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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME; 



OR OUR 



IDEAD F^RESIDKNT, 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, 



AND THE 



WORLD'S TRIBUTE TO HIS MEMORY 



BY 

J. WM. JONES, D. D, 



Author " Reminiscences, Anecdotes and Letters of Zc"^," " Christ in the Camp" 

"Army Northern Virginia Memorial Volume^' &'c., and 

former Secretary Southern Historicat Society, 



PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF MRS. DAVIS. 



IViAY I 1890 



t/ ^ 



RICHMOND, VA. : 

B. F. JOHNSON & CO., PUBLISHERS. 
1890. 






Copyright— 1889— by B. F. JOHNSON & CO. 



DEDICATION. 

TO THE NOBLE MATRON, MRS. VARINA HOWELL DAVIS, 

WHOSE FITTEST EULOGY IS THAT SHE WAS WORTHY TO GRACE THE HOME 

AND BRING SUNSHINE INTO THE LIFE OF 

3effevson iQaais, 

THIS VOLUME, WHICH WAS UNDERTAKEN BY HER KIND ENCOURAGEMENT, IS 

AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY ONE WHO COUNTS IT AN 

HONOR TO BE CALLED HER FRIEND. 





^^y^^^^- 1^ 



kS HE APPEARED DURWO THE WAR. 



PREFACE. 

Some years ago luy personal relations to President Davis, and my 
interest in and knowledge of events of Confederate History, induced 
an arrangement by which, with his full consent, I was to write the 
authorized Biography of our great Chief, and I had been diligently 
collecting material for that purpose. 

But on learning that he had at last yielded to a general desire, and 
was engaged at the time of his death in preparing his own Memoirs, 
and that since his death Mrs. Davis has decided to complete and pub- 
lish the book, under her own supervision, I gave up, of course, any plan 
of my own which could by any possibility conflict with this Memoir. 

It was suggested to me, however, that a volume which should briefly 
outline the Life and Character of the great Confederate Leader, and 
which should gather and preserve choice selections from the world's 
splendid tribute to his memory, would be a prized souvenir in the 
homes of the people who loved him, and not unacceptable to others 
who are willing to know more of the man who played so conspicuous a 
part in American History. 

But even this work I was unwilling to undertake unless it should 
meet with the full approval of Mrs. Davis, and be so arranged that she 
should have a "royalty" on every copy sold. 

I found her not only willing but anxious that these tributes of a 
people's love to her noble husband should be thus collected and pub- 
lished, and I obtained her cheerful consent that I should undertake the 
work, and her kind promise of valuable material for it. 

I am glad to be able to add that the liberality of my publishers has 
made the royalty large enough to induce the hope that it will be an 
important source of income to the noble woman who has caught the 
spirit of her illustrious husband and steadfastly refused all gratuities. 

The importance of an early publication has compelled the preparation 
of the book more rapidly than is desirable, and yet great care has been 
taken, and it Is hoped that no serious error will be found. 



VI ^ PBEFAOB. 

I am under high obligations to the newspapers generally, and to many 
personal friends who have aided me in my work, and I regret that the 
names of those who have given me cheerful assistance are too numer- 
ous to publish, and that I must content myself with this general 
acknowledgment of their appreciated favors. 

And while the book is in no sense an attempt at a full Biography, it 
is yet sent forth in the hope that it may shed much light on the Life 
and Character of "Our Dead President," and may show the world, and 
teach future generations, what a noble specimen of the Soldier, States- 
man, Patriot, Orator, and Christian gentleman he was, and what a 
place he held in the hearts of a grateful and loving people. 

J. W. J. 

Atlanta, Oa. 



INTRODUCTION. 



I can think of no better introduction to what I may say of the life 
and character of the great chief of the Confederacy tliau to quote the 
first paragrajjh of tlie superb oration which he delivered at tlie graat 
Lee Memorial Meeting held in Richmond, Va., on Thursday evening, 
November 3d, 1870. 

The spacious First Presbyterian Church was packed to its utmost 
capacity by an audience composed largely of Confederate veterans, who 
gave Mr. Davis such an ovation as King or proudest conqueror might 
have envied, and when the deafening cheers with which he was greeted, 
as he came forward to preside over the meeting, had subsided, he began 
his eulogy on Lee by saying : 

" Soldiers and Sailors of the Confederacy, Countrymen and Friends: 

"Assembled on this sad occasion, with hearts oppressed with the grief 
that follows the loss of him who was our leader on many a bloody 
battle-field, there is a melancholy pleasure in the spectacle which is 
presented. Hitherto, in all times, men have been honored when suc- 
cessful ; but here is the case of one who, amid disaster, went down to 
his grave, and those who were his companions in misfortune have 
assembled to honor his memory. It is as much an honor to you who 
give as to him who receives, for above the vulgar test of merit you show 
yourselves competent to discriminate between him who enjoys and him 
who deserves success." 

How appropriate this language to the great gathering in New Orleans, 
and the great gatherings in every city, and well nigh every town and 
hamlet of the old Confederate States. 

Describing the immense outpouring of the people, and the solemn 
deeoruna of the vast crowds at the funeral in New Orleans, Mr. F. D. 
JVIussey, of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, said, in his report to 
that paper : " The funeral of General Grant was a magnificent piece set 
on the stage, but this was a spontaneous outpouring of the hearts of a 
grateful people." 

And so it was. The man who had led his people in an unsuccessful 
struggle for independence died with a place in their hearts which no 
victor ever had. 

How can we account for this ? I suppose that one way of accounting 
for it is to say that the intelhgent people of our Southland have long 



Viii INTRODUCTION. 

since repudiated the fallacy that "success makes right," and that this 
is the criterion by which to judge a cause. 

One of the finest replies that 1 have ever heard was that given by the 
late Bishop J. P. B. Wilmer, of Louisiana, when some old friends of 
his in Philadelphia were twitting him about the failure of the Confed- 
eracy, and claiming that this proved that he was wrong in leaving his 
pastorate in Philadelphia to cast his lot with his beloved South. 

*' We told you that you were wrong," said they ; "and now see how 
it has been-proven that we were right. Look at the result." 

'* I see and keenly feel the result," said the Bishop ; " but I do not see 
that that proves anything as to who was right and who was wrong in 
that great contest." 

"Why the conclusion is perfectly obvious, and we wonder that you 
do not see it. The Confederacy was overwhelmed, and was, of course, 
wrong in attempting to establish her independence," they confidently 
replied. 

" 1 cannotsee itin that light," rejoined the Bishop, "andl think that 
I can ill?istrate it so as to show even you the fallacy of your position. 
Suppose that you and I were to get into a heated di3Cus3ion concerning 
some point in theology, and were to so far forget ourselves that words 
should come to blows. Now you are a much stronger man than I am 
physically ; but suppose that you were to send out and get a burly Irish- 
man, a big Dutchman, and a strapping negro, and that all four of you 
should, after a hard struggle, succeed in throwing me down and tieing 
me, would that prove that you were right, and that I was wrong ? Now 
the North, much stronger physically than the South, had not only the 
burly Irishman, and the big Dutchman, and the strapping negro, but 
they had the rest of the world from which to recruit their armies, and 
after a four years' struggle, which shook the continent, they finally suc- 
ceeded in compelling us 'to yield to overwhelming numbers and re- 
sources,' and furl forever our tattered battle-flag. Does that prove that 
you were right and we were wrong in the contest ? Away with any 
such absurd doctrine." 

And so our Confederate people have not looked upon Mr. Davis as the 
unsuccessful leader of a wrong cause, but as one who bravely, heroically, 
and patiently, stood for country, God, and truth, as he was given to see 
it, and died a noble martyr for his people. 

But Jefferson Davis's claim to a place in the hearts of his people does 
not by any means rest on his services to the Confederacy. As a young 
soldier on the frontier and in Indian wars he had illustrated the high- 
est type of the young officer which the United States Military Academy 
at West Point sent out in its palmiest days ; as colonel of the gallant 
Mississippi regiment he had won imperishable glory on the fields of 
Mexico, and contributed no insignificant part towards planting the 



INTRODUCTION. ix 

"stars and stripes'' on the walls of the Montezuma ; as representative 
of his State in the hails of Congress he had been the peer of the greatest 
in the House and in the Senate, even though there " were giants in 
those days ;" as Secretary of War he had proven himself the ablest the 
country has ever had, and had introduced reforms which are even now 
blessing the department and the service, which have refused to honor 
him dead ; as a popular orator and able debater he had few equals and 
scarcely any superior — even in this land of orators ; and as a chivalric, 
stainless, Christian gentleman, and an incomparable patriot, he won 
the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and has left behind a 
record of which his people are justly proud. 

Besides all this, he suffered in the room of his people, went to prison 
for them, had indignity put upon him, and was hated, slandered, mal- 
treated and ostracised in the land he had served so faithfully— all Sor 
them. No wonder, then, that the people in our Southland loved Jef- 
ferson Davis ; that they felt the deepest interest in all that concerned 
him, as he spent the evening of his days in his home beside the Gulf ; that 
they watched with breathless interest the news of his sickness ; that 
there was mourning in palace and cottage alike when the wires flashed 
the tidings of his death, and that immense crowds attended his funeral ; 
that memorial services were held and eloquent eulogies pronounced in 
every city, town and village in the South ; and that now the people are 
profoundly interested in everything concerning his life, his character, 
his death, or his funeral obsequies. 

In a speech delivered in Atlanta during the visit of Mr. Davis, at 
the unveiling of the monument of his friend, B. H. Hill, in May, 1886, 
the gifted and lamented Henry W. Grady, in his own matchless elo- 
quence, spoke of "Jefferson Davis, the uncrowned King of his people." 
Thank God, he is no longer " uncrowned." His people have crowned 
him with loving hearts, and redeemed by the blood of that Saviour in 
whom he humbly trusted, he has come off " conqueror — aye, more than 
conqueror," and the Captain of our Salvation has given him ''palms of 
victory" and a "crown" of rejoicing — 

" That crown with peerless glories bright. 
Which shall new lustre boast 
When victor's wreaths and monarch's gems 
Shall blend in common dust." 



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PAC-SIMTLE OF A LETTER RECEIVED BY Dk. JONES FROM Mrs. DAVIS. 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Tribute to the Leader of a "Lost Cause "—He Lives in the Hearts of a Grateflil People- 
Success does not make Right, nor Failure Wrong— Bisliop Wilmer's Retort— Mr. 
Davis True to Country, God and Truth— Soldier, Statesman, Orator, Patriot, 
Christian Gentleman, Martyr, He is no Longer an " Uncrowned King of His Peo- 
ple. ..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.. , • , vii-ix 



PART I. 
Outline of the Life and Character of Jefferson Davis. 

chapter l 

Autobiography of Jeffebson Davis.— Birth-Boyhood— College Student— Cadet at 
West Point— Young Officer- Marriage— Cotton Planter— Member of Congress- 
Enters Mexican War as Colonel of Mississippi Rifles— Monterey— Buena Yista— 
In the United States Senate— Candidate for Governor— Secretary of War under 
President Pierce— Again Elected to the Senate, and Service until February 18, 
1861— Farewell to the Senate— Election as President of the Southern Confede- 
racy-Service through the War-Capture— Imprisonment— Release on Bond— Resi- 
dence in Canada— Visit to Europe— Life at Beauvoir. 27-42 

CHAPTER IL 

BiKTH AND Early Life.— His Devotion to Kentucky— Gift of His Birthplace as the Site 

of a Church— His Speech at the Dedication of the Church 41-44 

CHAPTER m. 

The College Boy.— At Transylvania University— Reminiscences of His Old College- 
mate, General George W. Jones, of Iowa— Recollections of Judge Peters, of Mt. 
Sterling, Ky 46-6* 

CHAPTER IV. 

The West Point Cadet.— Appointed by President Monroe, through Secretary Calhoun— 
Recollection of a Fellow-Cadet— List of His Class— Sketch of Some of His Fellow- 
Cadets who were Afterwards Distinguished 65-68 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

The Young Officer.— Second Lieutenant in tlie Sixth and then in the First Infan- 
try—Reporting for Duty to Major Riley— The Black Hawk War— Severe T»st of 
Loyalty to Principle— First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the First Cavalry— Mar- 
riage to Miss Taylor, Daughter of General Zachary Taylor — Not a Runaway Mar- 
riage 5&-62 

CHAPTER YL 
In Retirement.— Briarfield— Death of His Wife— Wide Reading and Profound Study. . 63-64 

CHAPTER VII. 

His Entrance into Politics.— Candidate for the Legislature— His own Account of His 
Discussion with S. S. Prentiss— Defeated— Democratic Elector in 1844— His Second 
Marriage to Miss Varina Howell— Election to Congress where He took his Seat in 
December, 1845— His Brilliant Career in the House. .,,.,,,, 66-70 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Mexican War.— In Favor of the Annexation of Texas— Speech on Resolutions of 
Thanks to General Taylor and His Anny— He Resigns His Seat in Congress to 
Accept the Command of the First Mississippi Rifles— His Rigid Discipline— His 
Distinguished Services at Monterey— One of the Commissioners to Receive tne 
■ Surrender of the City— Adventure of Albert Sidney Johnston and Colonel Davis— 
Buena Vista— The Hero of the Day— Description of Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne— Gen. 
Taylor's Report— Col. Davis's own Report— Hon. Caleb Cushing's Mention of the 
" V Movement"— Account of Gen. A. H. Colquitt—" Steady Mississippians"— His 
Return Home and Enthusiastic Reception— Refuses a Commission as Brigaditr- 
General because He thought the President had no Legal Right to Confer the Com- 
mission 71-102 

CHAPTER IX. 

In the United States Senate. — Appointed by the Governor and Approved by the 
People— The Peer ot " The Giants " — John Quincy Adams's Opinion— Dyer's Esti- 
mate in His " Great Senators of the United States "—Pen-Picture of " The South- 
ern Triumvirate," Davis, Hunter, and Toombs— Recollections of the Old Stenogra- 
pher of the Senate, E. V. Murphy— Estimate of Prescott, the Historian— Estimate 
of Frank H, Alfriend— Sketch of the New Orleans " Times-Democrat "—Mr. 
Davis's Own Modest Account 103-130 

CHAPTER X. 

Secretary op War under Franklin Pierce.— Reluctant Acceptance of the Position- 
Thorough Qualifications— Able Administration— Important Refoi-ms and New 
Measures— The Officering of the Two New Regiments— A Brilliant Galaxy— Recol- 
lections of Judge James A. Campbell, of Philadelphia, who was in the Cabinet 
with Mr. Davis— His Own Account of His Administration of the War Depart- 
ment—The Degeneracy of the Administration since Mr. Davis's Day 131-142 

CHAPTER XI. 

Again in the United States Senate.— Mississippi Returns Him to the Senate— Diffi- 
culties and Dangers of Mr. Buchanan's Administration— Mr. Davis's Able and 
Patriotic Efforts to Avert Sectional Issues— Letter to Senator Pearce, of Maryland— 



CONTENTS. Xiii 

His Opposition to " Squatter SoTcreignty " and Debates 'vrlth Senator S. A. Doug- 
las—Mr. Alfriend's Contrast between Davis and Douglas— His Reception and 
Speech in Portland. Maine- At Faneuil Hall, Boston— Introduction of General 
Caleb Cashing— Mr. Davis's Great Speech— Speech in New York— Reply to an Invi- 
tation to a " Webster Birthday Festival "—His States' Rights Resolutions— Conclu- 
sion of His Reply to Mr. Douglas— Not an Aspirant for the Nomination for Presi- 
dent—Efforts to Heal the Breach and Solidify the Opposition to Lincoln .... 143-195 

CHAPTER XII. 

His Efforts to Preserve the Union.— Not a " Secession Conspirator "—His Devotion to 
the Union— His Own Summary of the Events which Led up to the Final Catastro- 
phe—Letter of November 10th, 1860, to Hon. R. B. Rhett, Jr.— Conference with the 
Governor of Mississippi and the Mississippi Delegation in Congress — He is Consid- 
ered "too Slow "—Letter from Hon. O. R. Singleton— He Favored the " Critten- 
den Compromise" — Close of an Eloquent Speech— No " Cabal of Southern Sena- 
tors" — Conclusive Vindication of Mr. Davis by Hon. C. C. Clay — Letter of January 
20th, 1861, to ex- President Franklin Pierce— His " Farewell to the Senate " January 
21st, 1861 196-222 

CHAPTER XIIL 

"Was Davis a Traitor ? "—Reader Referred to Authorities— Able Statement of the 
Case by Benjamin J. Williams, of Massachusetts— Clear and Conclusive Paper by 
Commodore Mathew F. Maury— The "Botetourt Resolutions " by Judge John J. 
Allen— The Secession of Virginia— A Reply to Mr. Rossiter Johnson by J. Wm. 
Jones— Letter of Mr. Davis to the North Carolina Centennial Committee— The 
Great Oration of Senator John W. Daniel Before the Virginia Legislatur .... 223r300 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Beginning of the War.— Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Mississippi 
Forces- President of the Confederacy— Inaugural Address — The Confederate Cabi- 
net—Confederate Commissioners to Washington—" Faith as to Sumter fully kept"— 
Perfidy of the Washington Government-" ^^'ho Fired the First Gun?"— Immense 
Odds Against the Confederacy in Both Numbers and Resources— Statistics Showing 
this— Removal to Richmond— The " White House of the Confederacy"— First Battle 
of Manassas— !Mr. Davis on the Field— His Dispatch— His order to Advance— His 
Election as President of the " Permanent Government "—His Inaugural Address. 301— 

CHAPTER XV. 

Three Years of Carnage.— Victories and Disasters— Incident given by Gen. Richard 
Taylor— Promotion of Gen. Pender— Mr. Davis to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston- 
Gen. Jonnston's Reply— Col. Jack's Account of His Interview with Mr. Davis— 
Another Letter to Gen, Johnston— Mr. Davis's Message to Congress on the Battle of 
Shiloh and Death of Albert Sidney Johnston— Letters of Gen. Lee to Mr. Davis and 
Mr. Davis to Gen. Lee after Gettysburg— Recollections of United States Senator 
John H. Reagan— Speech of Hon. Geo. Davis, Confederate Attorney-General— 
Reminiscences of Ex-Governor F. R. Lubbock, Member of the President's Staff— 
The Conduct of the War— Treatment of Prisoners- Discussion Between Hon. James 
Blaine and Hon. B. H. Hill— The Question Discussed and Points Established in 
Southern Historical Society Papers— Proud Record of the Confederacy on the Con- 
duct of the War— Prof. Worsely's poem and Gen. Lee's Reply— Gen. Sherman's 
Charge and Mr. Davis's Scathing and Conclusive Reply 



Xlv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Close of the "Wak.— Capture and Impkisonment.— When the Confederacy was nearest 
Success— First Manassas— " Within a Stone's Throw of Independence at Gettys- 
burg "—After Cold Harbor, in June, 18C4— Did Mr. Lincoln think that "the Time 
had Come for Negotiation " after Grant's dismal Failure in the Campaign of 1S64? 
The " Attrition " Campaign and its Results— Army of Northern Virginia Starved 
in the Trenches and Frittered Away, until Lee Had only 35,000 Men to Guard 
Forty Miles of Breastworks, and Oppose 140,000 of Grant's splendidly equipped 
Army— Disasters in the South— Mr. Davis Calm, Brave, Deteraained— His Last 
Message to Congress— Calmly and candidly States the Dangers and Perils of the 
Country, but Expresses the Confident Hope that with Proper Sacrifice, Wise 
Measures, and Persevering, Brave Efibrt the Independence of the Confederacy 
can still be Established- The Measures he Proposes for Re;ruiting the Army, and 
Securing Needed Supplies— On the Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus— Mr. 
Lincoln's Proposal of "Unconditional Surrender ''-General Grant's Refusal to 
have a "Military Convention" with General Lee in Reference to Peace— Mr. 
Davis's eloquent appeal to Congress and to the Confederacy— Extract from a 
Letter of President Davis to Governor Vance, in which he details the measures 
the Confederate Government had repeatedly taken to secure peace, and shows 
that unconditional surrender was the one condition of peace always insisted on by 
the Government at Washington — President Davis's Message to Congress transmit- 
ting the report of the commissioners to the Hampton Roads " Peace Conference"- 
Report of the Commissioner— The Telegram handed him in St. Paul's Church on 
Sunday morning, April 2d— Sensational Stories Refuted— His Own Account of what 
Occurred- About the rations Gen. Lee wished placed at Amelia C. H.- No fault of 
Mr. Davis nor of Commissary-General St. John— Headquarters at Danville— H:s 
Proclamation— First news of Lee's Surrender— His refusal of a bag of goV, when 
he had nothing but Confederate currency— Secretary iMallory's account of the 
Meetings of the President and Cabinet with Generals Johnston and Beauregard at 
Greensboro', N. C— Letter from Rev. Dr. H. A. Tupper, showing Mr. Davis's calm, 
brave oearing at Washington, Ga., when his capture seemed imminent — His caj)- 
ture— Sensational slanders concerning it refuted— Statement of James H. Parker, 
of Maine, one of his captors— Account given in letter of Col. Wm. Preston John- 
ston of his Staff, who was present— Account of Ex-Governor Lubbock, one of his 
Aids, who was also present— Reference to accoimt'of Postmaster-General Reagan, 
Attorney-General George Davis, and President Davis's own account in his book, 
and in letters to his old cadet room-mate, Col. Crafts J. Wright— The Confederate 
Treasure, and what became of it— His Imprisonment at Fortress Monroe— General 
Richard Taylor's account of his visit to him— Tender, and eloquent address of 
Rev. Dr. Charles Minnegerode, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Richmond, in which 
he gives deeply interesting reminiscences of his friendship with Mr. Davis, his 
confirmation and strong Christian character, his eiforts to obtain the privilege of 
visiting Mr. Davis in prison, his final success, his interviews with him, his com- 
munion with him, his final release on bail, the meeting with his family and 
friends, prayer of thanksgivings, &e., &c.— Efforts to hang him on trumped-up 
charges of complicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, and cruelty to prison- 
ers — Failure to "make out a case" — Nolle prosequi entered on the charge of 
"Treason" because the ablest lawyers in the country advised that it could not be 
sustained 376^27 

CHAPTER XVIL 

His Life Afteb the War. — Allusion 1,0 His Stay in Canada, His Visits to Europe, His 
Life in Memphis, and the Death there of Yellow Fever of His Son Jeflferson Davis, 
Jr. — Beauvoir— Vivid Description of the House, the Grounds, Mr. Davis, Mrs. 



CONTENTS. XV 

Davis, and Miss Winnie, ' The Daughter of the Confederacy," in a Letter by 
" Catherine Cole "—A Visit to Bcauvoir— President Davis and Family at Home, as 
Described in a Letter by J. Wm. Jones— Presentation of the Ead;;3 cf Lcc Camp 
Confederate Veterans, Richmond, Va., to " The Daughter of the Confederacy "— 
Governor Lee's Presentation, and Dr. J. Wm. Jones's Response in Behalf of the 
Kecipient— Mr. Davis Speaks at the Lee Memorial Meeting in Kichmond in Novem- 
ber, 1870, at the Convention which Re-organized the Southern llistorical Society in 
August, 1874, atthc Unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson Monument at New Orleans, 
at the Great Southern Historical Society Meeting there, at the Unveiling of the 
Albert Sidney Johnston Monument, at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Con- 
federate Monument at Montgomery, at Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, and other 
Places— Full Text of Eloquent and Conservative Speech at Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia Banquet, December 6th, 1878, made when Reporters were All Excluded and 
Never Before in Print— Letter to Ladies' Confederate Monument Association of 
Mississippi — Letter Correcting Mistakes in Biographical Sketch of Uimsclf— Full 
Text of His Address Before the Mississippi Legislature, March 10th, 1S81, in which 
He Explains why He had Never Applied to the United States Government for a 
Pardon 428-451 

CHAPTER X\T:II. 

Analysis of His Character.— The Christian Soldier, Statesman, Orator and Patriot- 
Reminiscences of Him at First Manassas— Seven Days Around Richmond— His 
Appearance— A. P. Hill | Ordering President Davis and General Lee to the Rear— 
His Speech at the Old African Church in Richmond after the Return of the 
"Peace Commissioners," and Its Impression— His the Speech at the Great Lee 
^lemorial Meeting— His Speech at the Unveiling of the Jackson Monument in New 
Orleans— A Peerless Orator— As a Writer of Classic English— A Patriot- Hon. B. H. 
Hill's Estimate— Illustrations of His Lack of Bitterness and Uniform Courtesy— 
His Humble, Evangelical Piety— A Specimen of His Fast Day Proclamations— A 
Personal Recollection- A Tribute of Bishop Kcnner— Incident Given by Senator 
John H. Reagan— His Letter to Two Little Boys— His Kind Treatment of His 
Slaves and Illustrations of their Devotion to Him- Incidents Told by S. A. Asha, 
Editor Raleigh News and Observer 452-468 



PART II. 

His Sickness, Death and Funeral Obsequies, and the World's 
Tribute to His Memory. 



His Sickness and Death— Taken Sick at Briarfield- Brought to the Residence of Judge 
Charles E. Fenncr, New Orleans— Description of the House— Mrs. Davis His Con- 
stant Nurse— Her Account of His Sickness— Bcttcr—A Congestive Chill from 
which He never Rallied— Friends at His Bedside— " Pray Excuse Me"— The 
End— Profound Grief at His Death — Editorial in the ' ' State"— Editorial Announce- 
ment of the "Times-Democrat"- Editorial in "City Item" — The Day of His 
Death : Mayor Shakspcare's Proclamation— Proclamation of Governor NirJiolls— 
Telegrams of Condolence Received from All Quarters by Mrs. Davis— Prepaka- 
Tioxs FOR the Funeral : Meeting at the Mayor's Parlor— Remarks by 
Mayor Shakspearc, Associate Justice Fenner and Others— Letter to Gover- 



CONTENTS. 

nor NichoUs and Telegrams to the Southern Governors— Appointment of 
Committees— Draping the Houses— Descriptions of the Decorations of the 
City Hall— At the Tenner Mansion: "After Death"— Mrs. Davis's Chris- 
tian Resignation— Crowds of Visitors— Touching Incident of the Old Slave 
who Came to See " Marse Jeff."— Removal of the Body : The "Picayune's" 
Vivid Description of Converting the Council Chamber into "Mortuary Hall"— 
The Catafalque— The Casket Removed from the Fenner Mansion to the City Hall 
at Midnight— The Washington Artillery Acting as Escort and Guard of Honor— 
The cause of his beath : Interesting statements by Justice Tenner and the 
attending physicians, Drs. Stanford E. Chaille, and Dr. Charles J. Bickham— 
Lying in State : Immense crowds view the body — General George W. Jones, of 
Iowa— Commodore Hunter— Mrs. Wheat, the mother of Maj. Wheat, of the " Lou- 
isiana Tigers "—Incidents— Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Hayes visit the chamber at mid- 
night— Mr. Orion Trazee takes a death mask — Telegrams continue to pour in 
from every quarter— The text of many of them— Proclamations from Governors 
NichoUs of Louisiana, Lowry of Mississippi, Seay of Alabama, Tleming of 
Florida, and Ross of Texas — Mrs. Davis's graceful response to telegrams of 
condolence— Estimated that 150,000 people viewed the body while lying in 
State — The Times- Democrat on the popular demonstration of respect and love 
shown our dead President — Telegraphic correspondence between Mayor Shakspeare 
and Secretary-of-War Proctor— Two Poems— Meeting of the Army of Tennessee 
Association— Tull text of an eloquent eulogy by Rev. Dr. T. R. Markham— Brief 
speeches made by Gen. Geo. W. Jones of Iowa, Gen. S. B. Buckner of Kentucky, 
Gen. T. T. Munford of Virginia, Dr. J. Wm. Jones of Atlanta, Gen. S. W. Terguson 
of Mississippi, Gen. S. D. Lee of Missitsippi, and Judge Walter H. Rogers of New 
Orleans— The Floral Offerings : Vivid description of the Tlmcs-Deinocral—T\i<i 
display magnificent in the niunber, variety, and beauty of the designs — The Ne'v* 
Orleans Resolutions : The Bench and Bar— The Veteran Confederate Cavalry 
Association— The Board of Trade— Law class of Tulane University— The Stock 
Exchange— Colored Citizens— Taculty of Tulane University— Medical Students of 
Tulane University— The Civil District Court— The City full of Delegations and 
Visitors from every Quarter— The Funeral Obsequies — A Cloudless Sky— An 
Immense Crowd — A Stream of Visitors to Mortuary Hall from 7 A. M. to 10 — The 
Bier Borne at 12 O'clock from the Council Chamber to the Stone Portico of the 
City Hall— The Bishops, the Clergy, the Choristers, the Immense Crowd— The 
Service Begun — Chaste and Eloquent but Brief Address of Bishop John N. Galle- 
her— The Benediction— Father Hubert's Prayer— Bearing the Remains to the' 
Funeral Car— Laid to Rest — The Immense Procession— The Services at the Tomb— 
The Tuneral Procession— The Organizations Comprising the Six Divisions in 
Line— Detailed List of the Organizations, OflBcers, &c., in Each Division— At Met- 
airie— The Remains Deposited in the Tomb of the Army of Northern Virginia — 
Tull List of Pall-Bearers— Some Notable Men who were in the Procession— The 
North Carolina Delegation — Registered at the Continental Armory — The Ken- 
tucky Delegation— Delegation from Richmond, Va.— The Tennessee Delegation- 
Large Delegation from Alabama— The Maryland Representation— Four Militarj' 
Companies and Over 1,000 Citizens from Mississippi— Names— The Florida Delega- 
tion—Delegation from South Carolina— Ladies' Memorial Association of Columbia. 
Texas Delegation— Arkansas— The Floral Tribute — Vicksburg's— The Misses 
Stringfellow— Lee Association, of Mobile— Florida's—Richmond Howitzer's— Girls' 
High School— Louisiana Rifles— The Salutes— Battery B, Louisiana Tield Artillerj-. 
Notes— Tloral Ship of State from Ladies of Dallas, Texas— Capt. Jack White— The 
Davis Guards— Mass Meeting of the United Confederate Veterans— Address 
of Gen. Jno. B. Gordon — Vice-Presidents — Resolutions and Remarks of Gen. S. D. 
Lee— Gen. W. L. Cabell— Governor Lowry, "the Soldier-Governor" of Mississippi- 
Governor Towle, Governor NickoUs, Governor Buckner, Governor Tleming, Gov- 
ernor Eagle, Governor Lubbock, Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson 471-585 



CONTENTS. XVll 

Virginia's Tribute : Proclamation of Governor Fitzhugh Lee— Proclamation of the 
Mayor of Richmond— Letters of Gen. Dabney H. Maury and Gen. W. H. Payne- 
Memorial Windows in St. Paul's— Memorial services at the various Churches — 
Resolutions of the General Assembly— Minute Guns by the Richmond Howitzers- 
Meeting at the Academy of Music— Resolutions— Meeting of Members of Legisla- 
ture to hear the Oration of Senator Daniel— Remarks of Hon. R. H. Cardwell, 
Speaker of the House of Delegates— Norfolk and Portsmouth — Meeting of Pickett- 
Puchanan and Stonewall Camp Confederate Veterans — Religious Services — 
" Memorial Day " in Petersburg — Mass Meeting at Opera House under Auspices of 
of A. P. HUl Camp Confederate Veterans — Resolutions— Letters of Mrs. Davis to 
the Mayor of Richmond— Lexington — Virginia Military Institute and Washing- 
ton and Lee University — Extract from Oration of Hon. J. Randolph Tucker — 
Danville— Maury Camp of Fredericksburg— Williamsburg— Other Points . . . 585-601 

Alabajia's Tribute : Montgomery's Mourning — Editorial in the '^lontgomery Advertiser 
Meeting of Confederate Veterans— Poem by Rev. Dr. M. B Wharton— Proclamation 
of Mayor Graham— " Rufus Sanders" in the ^drertiser— Memorial Day in Mont- 
gomery — Editorial in the Advertiser— Grand Mass Meeting on December 19th — 
Resolutions— Speeches by Gen. Holtzclaw, Gov. Watts, Gen. John A. Sanders, Gen. 
Geo. P. Harrison, and Capt. B. H. Screws— Extracts from speech of Gov. Watts, the 
old Attorney-General of the Confederacy— The Observance of the Day at Other 
Points all over the State '. 601-607 

Georgia's Tribute : Henry W. Grady's Graceful and Touching Announcement of the 
Death and Tribute to the Memory of "Our Dead President "—Poem by Mont- 
gomery M. Folsom on "Davis is Dead— The Message Read" — Proclamation by 
Gov. Gordon— By the Mayor of Atlanta— By Judge W. L. Calhoun, President Con- 
federate Veterans — Large Meeting of Veterans— The Resolutions— Speeches— Poem 
by Mrs. J. Wm. Jones read at the Meeting— Arrangements to Raise Funds for the 
Family and for a Monument— Telegraphic Correspondence Between Col. John A. 
Cockrell, of the New York World, and Henry W. Grady, of Atlanta— Memorial 
Day in Atlanta — A Procession, a JIass Meeting, and addresses by Judge Calhoun, 
Mayor Glenn, Rev. Dr. Strickler, Hon. A. H. Cox, and Judge Howard Van Epps— 
Grady's Telegram from New York— Atlanta's Warm Tribute Finds its Equal all 
over the State — Augusta's Tribute — Action of the Confederate Survivors' Associa- 
tion-Memorial Day— Oration of Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr.— Extracts from His 
Eloquent Address— Macon's Tribute— Editorial in the 2"efe(7rapA— Tribute of the 
Veterans — At the Churches— Memorial Day— Editorial in Wesleyan Christian Advo- 
cate— SaYSLunah's Tribute — In the Churches — The Veterans— Gen. Henry R. Jack- 
son's Brief but Eloquent Tribute — The Resolutions— Gen. Lawton in Calling the 
Vast Crowd to Order- The Prayer— At Other Towns in Georgia 608-623 

Kentucky's Tribute : In Louisville— Meeting of Confederate Veterans— Resolutions by 
Rev. Dr. J. A. Broadus— Speeches by Hon. H. W. Bruce, Col. J. Stoddard John- 
ston, Maj. E. H. McDonald, Gen. Thomas H. Taylor, and Col. B. H. Young— Edi- 
torial in the Courier- Journal — Editorial in Western Recorder — Elsewhere in Ken- 
tucky—At Paris— At Lexington— Characteristic Letter from Mrs. Davis— At Stan- 
ford—Offer of a Burial Place on the Spot of His Birth 624-629 

Mississippi's Tp.ibute : Throb of Mississippi's Heart in Unison with the General Grief — 
Resolutions of the University of Mississippi— Resolutions from all over the State — 
Action of the State Legislature— Full report in the CTano/i— Resolutions— Speeches- 
Mutual Love of Mr. Davis and Mississippi 620-633 

Arkansas's Tribute : Tributes all over the State— Memorial Pay at Little Rock— Meet- 
ing at the State Capitol— Resolutions— Meetings at the Hot Springs, Helena, and 
Other Places— Arkansas no Whit Behind Her Southern Sisters in Her Loving 
Tribute 633-635 

Florida's Tribute : Gov. Fleming's Estimate in the N. Y. World — Letter from Dr. R. 
B. Burroughs of Jacksonville, to Mrs. Davis, transmitting Resolutions — Florida's 
Tribute not unworthy Her Gallant "Men in Gray" 035-637 



XVIll CONTENTS. 

Maryland's Tribute : Gallant Mary landers in the Confederate Army and Loyal Hearts 
at Home— Their Tribute to Their Chief— " Memorial Day" in Baltimore— The 
Meeting at the Armory of the Fifth Maryland Regiment— The Officers- Prayer by 
Rev. Dr. (Confederate Captain) McKim— Speeches by Mayor Davidson, Col. D, G. 
Mcintosh, Col. Charles Marshall, Gen. Bradley T. Johnson, Rev. Dr W. U. Murk- 
land, and Hon. S. Teackle Wallis — Extracts from the Conclusion of Col. Mcin- 
tosh's Speech, and Major Hall's Memorial— Tribute of Lieutenant Winfield Peters 
and Eloquent Speech of Hon. T. R. Stockdale, of Mississippi, at the Confederate 
Reunion and Banquet January 20th, 1890 — Johns Hopkins University, Western 
College of Maryland, Lady Visitors of the Confederate Home, and Others, Swell 
Maryland's Tribut e 637-640 

North Carolina's Tribute : Tlie Governor, in His Proclamation and Speech, Voices 
the Feeling of the " Old North State"— A Meeting at Metropolitan Hall, Raleigh- 
Gov. Fowle's Telegram to the New York World — Memorial Day in Raleigh and an 
Eloquent Eulogy by Rev. Dr. Watkins— At Other Places in the State— Honor from 
the Men who Followed Him in War 640-643 

South Carolina's Tribute : Action of the Legislature — Brief but Eloquent Speech by 
Col. McKissick— Charleston's Tribute — The Mayor's Proclamation— Various Meet- 
ings and Resolutions— Great Meetings on Memorial Day and Speeches by Col. 
Zimmerman Davis, Maj. T. G. Barker, Gen. B. H. Rutledge, Rev. Dr. Thompson, 
Gen. McCrady, Rev. R. C. Holland, Col. Henry E. Young, and Mr. J. P. K. Bryan— 
The Day in Columbia, Greenville, Newberry, and Other Points all over the 
State ... 643-646 

Tennessee's Tribute : Memphis once the Home of Mr. Davis— Her Loving Tribute— 
Resolutions— Memorial Day in the Churches — Mass Meeting at the Theatre — 
Speeches — Poem by Mrs. Boyle — The Resolutions — Decking with Flowers the 
Grave of Jefferson Davis, Jr.— At Nashville— Elder Lin Cave, the Orator- At Other 
Points in the State 646-648 

Texas's Tribute: Prairie Flowers on His Bier— Galveston's Tribute— Dallas— Austin— 
At Other Towns— An Enthusiastic and Loving Tribute — A Poem by Mrs. Mary 
Mitchell Brown 618-649 

Miscellaneous: Resolutions Received by Mrs. Davis— Editorials in Northern and 
English Papers — N. Y. Examiner — N. Y. Sun — N. Y. Times — Advance Thought, New 
York — London Globe— Daily Jfefe^rap/i- Philadelphia T^mcs — N. Y. Herald. — Con- 
clusion-Address by Rev. Dr. S. A. Goodwin, of Richmond— Poem by Father A. 
J. Ryan 650-662 

Address of Hon. J. A. P. Campbell before the Mississippi Legislature 663-672 



PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 



n^HE PUBLISHERS have, at great expense, and by exercis- 
1 ing unusual care and patience, succeeded in securing a large 
number of beautiful and attractive illustrations for the Davis 
Memorial Volume, many of which are of rare historical value. 
We are greatly indebted to W. L. Sheppard, whose intimate 
acquaintance and association with many of the characters and 
scenes presented in the book enabled him to not only draw for 
us many striking and interesting pictures, but to make sugges- 
tions that were exceedingly helpful to other artists engaged in 
preparing the illustrations for the book. Mr. W. W. Davies, 
of the Lee Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, also places us under 
lasting obligations to him by furnishing us many photographs 
taken during and soon after the war. We would note specially 
the Grand Jury, and Petit Jury, Members of Mr. Davis's Cabi- 
net, photograph of Mrs. Davis in full dress, Avith the aid of 
which Mr. Sheppard was enabled to draw the charming pic- 
ture entitled " A Reception at the White House by Mr. and 
Mrs. Davis." The originals of these and other photographs 
used in illustrating the book are now in possession of Mr. 
Davies, of the Lee Gallery, and copyrighted by us in producing 
this work. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

FKONTISPIECE.— Steel Portrait of Mr. Davis, from a pho- 
tograph taken about the close of the war. Eugraved 
by Illman Bros 4 

Plate II. — Letter from Mrs. Davis to Dr. Jones, authori- 
zing the publication of the Memorial Volume ... 10 

III.— St. Paul's Church, Richmond, Va., where Mr. 
Davis worshiped — Washington Monument in the 
foreground 45 

rV. — Battle of the Bad Axe. Scene in the Black 

Hawk War. W. L. Sheppard 61 

v.— Briarfield. J. D. Woodward 65 

VI. — ^YouNG Davis Leading his Command at Monte- 
rey, Mexico. Gilbert Gaul 81 

VII.— Davis and Johnston Negotiating with Ampu- 

DIA. W. L. Sheppard 85 

VIII.— "Steady, Mississippi ans." W. L. Sheppard ... 101 

IX. — The Confederate Capitol 105 

X.— The White House of the Confederacy 125 

XL— Jefferson Davis, Jr. Died at Memphis, Tenn., 
of yellow fever. From a photograph furnished by 
Mrs. Davis 145 

XII. — Mr. and Mrs. Addison L. Hayes 167 

XIII.— Mrs. Hayes's four Children and Nurse .... 177 

XIV. — Jefferson Hayes Davis, aged five years 187 

XV.— Farewell Address to the United States Sen- 
ate. A. C. Redwood 217 

XVI. — Members of the First Confederate Cabinet . . 297 

XVII.— Inaugural AT Montgomery. From a photograph. 302 



Xxii ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 
XVIII. — The Bible used in taking the Oath at the 

Inaugural. From an old photograph 307 

XIX.— Mrs. Davis in full dress giving a Reception 

AT the "White House." W. L. Sheppard ... 313 

XX.— "There Comes the President." W. L. Sheppard 317 

XXI. — Members of the Second Confederate Cabinet. 

From a photograph furnished by W. W. Davies . . 323 

XXII.— Davis, Lee and Jackson in Council. W. L, Shep- 
pard .... 325 

XXIII.— Gen. A. P. Hill ordering President Davis and 

General Lee to the Rear. W. L. Sheppard . . 341 

XXIV.— From a Bust by Volck. The original now in pos- 
session of W. W. Davies, Lee Gallery. The Con- 
federate ten cent postage stamp was designed from 
this bust 351 

XXV.— First Meeting of Lee and Davis after the War 391 

XXVI.— His Capture 403 

XXVII.— Parting with his Family. W. L. Sheppard ... 411 

XXVIII. — View of Fortress Monroe. Exterior of the case- 
ment ; inside view of the casement ; Revolutionary 
relics. W. L. Sheppard 413 

XXIX.— The Davis Bail Bond. An exact reproduction . . 423 

XXX.— In his Library. W. L. Sheppard 426 

XXXI. — Mr. Davis leaving the Court- room. W. L. Shep- 

pard 427 

XXXII.— Mrs. V. Jefferson Davis. From a recent photo- 
graph 434 

XXXIII.— On the Veranda at Beauvoir. W. L. Sheppard. 437 

XXXIV.— Miss Winnie Davis, "The Daughter op the Con- 
federacy." From a photograph taken by W^. W. 

Davies, Richmond, Va 442 

XXXV. — Chief Justice Chase and Judge Underwood. 
From original photographs taken at the time by 
W. W. Davies, now in possession of Lee Gallery . 459 

XXXVI. — Steel Portrait of Mr. Davis. From photograph 

taken not long before his death 469 



lliLUSTRATIONS. XXIU 

Page. 
XXXVII. -"Pray, Excuse Me." W. I^. Sheppard 475 

XXXVIII.— City Hall, New Orleans. From a photograph . . 479 

XXXIX. — After Death. From a photograph 493 

XL. — Bearing the Eemains to the Funeral Car . . . 531 

XLI. — The Tomb of the Army op Northern Virginia 

Association at Metarie Cemetery 535 

XLII. — The Temporary Interment 587 

XLIII.— The Grand Marshal and his Aids 539 

XLIV.— The Catafalque 543 

XLV. — Council Chamber, New Orleans. From a photo- 
graph 545 

XLVI.— The Last Night's Vigil. From a photograph . . 553 

XL VII.— The Eight Governors who Attended the Fune- 
ral. From recent photographs 557 

XLVIII. — Prominent Confederate Generals who Attend- 
ed the Funeral, most of them acting as pall- 
bearers 567 

XLIX.— Mayors of Cities, and other prominent men in 

attendance on the funeral 577 

L.— Little Joe Davis's Grave. W. L. Sheppard . . 589 

LI. — House in which the first Meeting of the Con- 
federate Cabinet was held 601 

LIL— The Grand Jury which indicted Mr. Davis. 
The first mixed jury ever impaneled in the South ; 
the celebrated John Minor Botts, of Virginia, being 
the foreman. From a photograph taken at the time 
in possession of W. W. Davies, Lee Gallery .... 605 

LIII.— Mr. Davis's Residence in Montgomery 621 

LIV.— Petit Jury, which was to have tried him. 
The second mixed jury ever impaneled in the 
South. From a photograph in possession of W. 
W. Davies, Lee Gallery 625 

LV.— Beauvoir. J. D. Woodward 631 

LVL— Discussing Military Matters with Miss Winnie. 

W. L. Sheppard oH 



PART 1. 



OUTLINE OF THE 



Life and Character 



PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS. 




L 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

jHE following brief autobiography of Mr. Davis 
appeared in the January, 1890, number of Belford^s 
Magazine, and was dated "Beauvoir, Miss., Novem- 
ber, 1889," having been written but a short time before his 
lamented death. The publishers state that it "was dictated 
by Mr. Davis as he lay sick in bed one morning at Beauvoir 
a few weeks before his death, and was taken down in short- 
hand by a Northern guest, whose manuscript was revised by 
the old statesman before it was mailed to the Belford Company, 
who had solicited it for a biographical cyclopaedia they had 
undertaken." 

"I was born June 3, 1808, in Christian county, Ky., in that 
part of it which, by a subsequent division, is now Todd county. 
At this place has since arisen the village of Fairview, and on 
the exact spot where I was born has been constructed the Bap- 
tist church of the place. My father, Samuel Davis, was a 
native of Georgia, and served in the war of the revolution, first 
in the 'mounted gunmen,' and afterward as captain of infantry 
at the siege of Savannah. During my infancy my father- 
removed to Wilkinson county, Miss. After passing through the 
county academy I entered Transylvania college, Kentucky, and 
was advanced as far as the senior class when, at the age of 16, 1 
was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West 
Point, which I entered in September, 1824. I graduated m 
1828, and then, in accordance with the custom of cadets, 

(27) 



28 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

entered £iclivo service with the rank of Heutenant, serving as an 
officer of infantry on the northwest frontier until 1833, when, 
a regiment of dragoons having been created, I was transferred 
to it. After a successful campaign against the Indians, I 
resigned from the army, in 1835, being anxious to fulfill a long- 
existing engagement with a daughter of Col. Zachary Taylor, 
whom I married, not * after a romantic elopement,' as has so 
often been stated, but at the house of her aunt, and in the 
presence of many of her relatives, at a place near Louisville, 
Ky. Then I became a cotton planter in Warren county. Miss. 
It was my misfortune, early in my married life, to lose my 
wife ; and for many years thereafter I lived in great seclusion 
on the plantation in the swamps of the Mississippi. In 1843 
I for the first time took part in the political life of the country. 
Next year I was chosen one of the presidential electors at large 
of the State, and in the succeeding year was elected to Con- 
gress, taking my seat in the House of Representatives in 
December, 1845. The jjroposition to terminate the joint occu- 
pancy of Oregon and the reformation of the tariff were the two 
questions arousing most public attention at that time, and I 
took an active part in their discussion, especially in that of the 
first. 

" During this period, hostilities with Mexico commenced, and 
in the legislation which the contest rendered necessary my 
military education enabled me to take a somewhat prominent 
part. 

"In June, 1846, a regiment of Mississippi volunteers was 
organized at Vicksburg, of which I was elected colonel. On 
receiving notice of the election, I proceeded to overtake the 
regiment, which was already on its way to Mexico, and joined 
it at New Orleans. Reporting to General Taylor, then com- 
manding at Camargo, my regiment, although the last to 
arrive — having been detained for some time on duty at the 
mouth of the Rio Grande — was selected to move with the 



AUTOBIOQBAPUY. 29 

advance upon the city of Monterey. The want of transporta- 
tion prevented General Taylor from taking the whole body of 
volunteers who had reported there for duty. The Mississippi 
regiment was armed entirely with percussion rifles. And here 
it may be interesting to state that General Scott, in Washing- 
ton, endeavored to persuade me not to take more rifles than 
enough for four companies, and objected particularly to per- 
cussion arms, as not having been sufficiently tested for the use 
of troops in the field. Knowing that the Mississippians would 
have no confidence in the old flint-lock muskets, I insisted on 
their being armed with the kind of rifle then recently made at 
New Haven, Conn. — the Whitney rifle. From having been 
first used by the Mississippians these rifles have always been 
known as the 'Mississippi' rifles. 

" In the attack on Monterey General Taylor divided his force, 
sending one part of it by a circuitous road to attack the city 
from the west, while he decided to lead in person the attack on 
the east. The Mississippi regiment advanced to the relief of 
a force which had attacked Fort Lenaria, but had been repulsed 
before the Mississippians arrived. They carried the redoubt, 
and the fort which was in the rear of it surrendered. The next 
day our force on the west side carried successfully the height 
on which stood the bishop's palace, which commanded the 
city. 

"On the third day the Mississippians advanced from the fort 
which they held, through lanes and gardens, skirmishing and 
driving the enemy before them until they reached a two-story 
house at the corner of the Grand Plaza. Here they were joined 
by a regiment of Texans, and from the windows of this house 
they opened fire on the artillery and such otlicr troops as were 
in view. But, to get a better position for firing on the princi- 
pal buildings of the Grand Plaza, it was necessary to cross the 
street, which was swept by canister and grape, rattling on the 
pavement like hail, and, as the street was very narrow, it was 



so THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

determined to construct a flying barricade. Some long timbers 
were found, and, with pack saddles and boxes, which served 
the purpose, a barricade was constructed. 

"Here occurred an incident to which I have since frequently 
referred with pride. In breaking open a quartermaster's 
storehouse to get supplies for this barricade, the men found 
bundles of the much-prized Mexican blankets, and also of very 
serviceable shoes and pack saddles. The pack saddles were 
freely taken as good material for the proposed barricade; and 
one of my men, as his shoes were broken and stones had hurt 
his feet, asked my permission to take a pair from one of the 
boxes This, of course, was freely accorded; but not one of 
the very valuable and much-prized Mexican blankets was 
taken. 

"About the time that the flying barricade was completed, 
arrangements were made by the Texans and Mississippians to 
occupy houses on both sides of the street, for the purpose of 
more effective fire into the Grand Plaza. It having been 
deemed necessary to increase our force, the Mississippi sergeant- 
major was sent back for some companies of the First Mississippi 
which had remained behind. He returned with the statement 
that the enemy was behind us, that all our troops had been 
withdrawn, and that orders had been three times sent to me to 
return. Governor Henderson, of Texas, had accompanied the 
Texan troops, and on submitting to him the question what we 
should do under the message, he realized — as was very plain — 
that it was safer to remain where we were than (our supports 
having been withdrawn) to return across streets where we were 
liable to be fired on by artillery, and across open grounds 
where cavalry might be expected to attack us. But, he added, 
he supposed the orders came from the general-in-chief, and we 
were bound to obey them. So we made dispositions to retire 
quietly ; but, in passing the first square, we found that our 
movement had been anticipated, and that a battery of artillery 



A VTOBIOGRAPH Y. 31 

was posted to command the street. The arrangement made 
by me for crossing it was that I should go first ; if only one 
gun was fired at me, then another man should follow; and so 
on, another and another, until a volley should be fired, and 
then all of them should rush rapidly across before the guns 
could be reloaded. In this manner the men got across with 
little loss. We then made our way to the suburb, where we 
found that an officer of infantry, with two companies and a 
section of artillery, had been posted to wait for us, and, in case 
of emergency, to aid our retreat. 

"Early next morning General Ampudia, commanding the 
Mexican force, sent in a flag and asked for a conference with a 
view to capitulation. General Taylor acceded to the j)roposi- 
tion, and appointed General Worth, Governor Henderson and 
myself commissioners to arrange the terms of capitulation. Gen- 
eral Taylor received the surrender of the city of Monterey, with 
supplies, much needed b}^ his army, and shelter for the wounded. 
The enemy gained only the privilege of retiring peacefully, a pri- 
vilege which, if it had not been accorded, the}'- had the power to 
take by any one of the three roads open to them. The point 
beyond which they should withdraw was fixed by the terms o- 
capitulation, and the time during which hostilities were to be 
suspended was determined on by the length of time necessary 
to refer to and receive answers from the two governments. A 
few days before the expiration of the time so fixed, the govern- 
ment of the United States disapproved of the capitulation, and 
ordered the truce to be immediately terminated. By this deci- 
sion we lost whatever credit had been given to us for generous 
terms in the capitulation, and hostilities were to be resumed 
without any preparations having been made to enable General 
Taylor, even with the small force he had, to advance further 
into the enemy's country. General Taylor's letter to Mr. Marcy, 
Secretary of War, was a very geod response to an unjust criti- 
cism ; and in the Washington Union of that time I also pub- 



82 



THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 



lished a very full explanation of the acts of the commission- 
ers, and of the military questions involved in the matter of 
capitulation in preference to continuing the siege and attack. 

"General Taylor, assuming that it was intended for him to 
advance into the interior of Mexico, then commenced to pre- 
pare himself for such a campaign. To this end ho made requi- 
sitions for the needful transportation, as well as munitions, 
including, among other supplies, large India rubber bags, in 
which to carry provisions for days, and which, being emptied 
before we reached the desert of sixty miles, would, by being 
filled with water, enable troops and horses to cross those desert 
plains. These and other details had been entered into under 
the expectation that the censure of the treaty of Monterey 
meant a march into the interior of Mexico. Another thing 
required was a new battery of field pieces to take the place of 
the old Ringgold battery, which by long service had become 
honeycombed. When all these arrangements were nearly com- 
pleted it was decided to send General Scott, with discretionary 
powers, which enabled him to take nearly all the tried troops 
General Taylor had, including even the engineer then employed 
in the construction of a fort, and the batter}^ of new guns to 
replace the old ones, which were deemed no longer safe, but 
which, under the intrepid Captain Bragg, afterward did good 
service in the battle of Buena Vista. 

"General Taylor, with the main body of his army went to 
Victoria, and there made arrangements to send them all to 
report to General Scott, at Vera Cruz, except the small force he 
considered himself entitled to as an escort on his route back to 
Monterey through an unfriendly people. That escort consisted 
of a battery of light artillery, a squadron of dragoons, and the 
regiment oi Mississippi riflemen. AVith these he proceeded 
through Monterey and Saltillo to Agua Nueva, where he was 
joined by the division of General Wool, who had made the 
campaign of Chihuahua. 



A UTOBIOGRAPHY. S3 

"General Santa Anna, commanding the army of Mexico, was 
informed of the action which had been taken in stripping Gen- 
eral Taylor of his forces, and was also informed that he had at 
Saltillo only a handful of volunteers, which could be easily 
dispersed on the approach of an army. Thus assured, and 
with the prospect of recovering all the country down to the Rio 
Grande, Santa Anna advanced upon Agua Nueva._^ 

" General Taylor retired to the Angostura pass, in front of the 
hacienda of Buena Yista, and there made his dispositions to 
receive the anticipated attack. As sage as he was brave, his 
dispositions were made as well as the small force at his com- 
mand made it possible. After two days of bloody fighting, 
General Santa Anna retired before this little force, the greater 
part of which had never before been under fire. 

"The encounter with the enemy was very bloody. The Mis- 
sissippians lost many of their best men, for each of whom, how- 
ever, they slew several of the enemy. For, trained marksmen, 
they never touched the trigger without having an object 
through both sights; and they seldom fired without drawing 
blood. The infantry against whom the advance was made was 
driven back, but the cavalry then moved to get in the rear of 
the Mississippians, and this involved the necessity of falling 
back to where thj plain was narrow, so as to have a ravine on 
each flank. 

"In this position the second demonstration of the enemy's 
cavalry was received. They were repulsed, and it was quiet in 
front of the Mississippians until an aide came and called from 
the other side of the ravine, which he could not pass, that 
General Taylor wanted support to come as soon as possible to 
the protection of the artillery on the right flank. The order 
was promptly obeyed at double quick, although the distance 
must have been nearly a mile. They found the enemy moving 
in three lines upon the batteries of Captain Braxton Bragg and 
the section of artillery commanded by George IL Thoma-s, 
3 



34 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

The Mississippians came up in line, their right flank opposite 
the first line of the advancing enemy, and at a very short range 
opened fire. All being sharpshooters, those toward the left of 
the line obliqued to the right, and at close quarters and against 
three long lines very few shots could have missed. At the 
same time the guns of Bragg and Thomas were firing grape. 
The effect was decisive ; the infantry and artillery of the enemy 
immediately retired. 

" At the close of the day Santa Anna bugled the retreat, as 
was supposed, to go into quarters, but when the next sun rose 
there was no enemy in our front. 

"The news of this victory was received in the United States 
with a degree of enthusiasm proportionate to the small means 
with which it was achieved; and generosity was excited by the 
feeling that General Taylor had been treated with injustice. 
Thenceforward the march of 'Old Rough and Ready' to the 
White House was a foregone conclusion. 

"In this battle, while advancing to meet the enemy, then 
pressing some of our discomfited volunteers on the left of 
the field of battle, I received a painful wound, which was ren- 
dered more severe in consequence of remaining in the saddle 
all day, although wounded early in the morning. A ball had 
passed through the foot, leaving in the wound broken bones 
and foreign matter, which the delay had made it impossible 
then to extract. In consequence I had to return home on 
crutches. 

"In the meantime a Senator of Misidssippi had died, and 
the governor had appointed me his successor. Before my 
return home President Polk had also appointed me brigadier- 
general of volunteers, an appointment which I declined on the 
ground that volunteers are militia, and that the constitution 
reserved to the State the appointment of all militia officers. 
This was in 1847. In January, 1848, the Mississippi legisla- 
ture unanimously elected me United States Senator for the rest 



AUTOBIOORAPHY. 35 

of the unexpired term; and in 1850 I was re-elected for the 
full term as my own successor. In the United States Senate I 
was chairman of the Military Committee; and I also took an 
active part in the debates on the compromise measures of 1850, 
frequently opposing Senator Douglas, of Illinois, in his theory 
of 'squatter sovereignty,' and advocating, as a means of pacifica- 
tion, the extension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific. 
When the question was presented to Mississippi as to whether 
the State should acquiesce in the compromise legislation of 1850, 
or whether it should join the other Southern States in a con- 
vention to decide as to the best course to pursue in view of the- 
threatened usurpations of the Federal government, I advo- 
cated a convention of the Southern States, with a view to such 
co-operation as might effectually check the exercise of con- 
structive powers, the parent of despotism, by the Federal gov- 
ernment. 

" The canvass for governor commenced that year. The candi- 
date of the democratic party was by his opponents represented 
to hold extreme opinions — in other words, to be a disunionist. 
For, although he was a man of high character and had served 
the country well in peace and war, this supposition was so art- 
fully cultivated that, though the democratic party was esti- 
mated to be about 8,000 in majority, when the election occurred 
in September the democratic candidates for a convention were 
defeated by a majority of over 7,000, and the democratic can- 
didate for governor withdrew. 

"The election for governor was to occur in November, and I 
was called on to take the place vacated by the candidate who 
had withdrawn from the canvass. It was a forlorn hope, espe- 
cially as my health had been impaired by labors in the sum- 
mer canvass, and there was not time before the approaching 
election to make such a canvass as would be needed to reform 
the ranks of the democracy. However, as a duty to the party, 
I accepted the position, and made as active a campaign as the 



36 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

time permitted, with the result that the majority against the 
party was reduced 'to less than 1,000. From this time, I 
remained engaged in quiet farm labors until the nomination 
of Franklin Pierce, when I went out to advocate his election, 
having formed a very high opinion of him as a statesman and 
a patriot from observations of him in 1837 and 1838, when he 
was in the United States Senate. 

"On his election as President, I became a member of his cab- 
inet, filling the office of Secretary of War during his entire term. 
During these four years I proposed the introduction of camels 
for service on the western plains, a suggestion which was 
adopted, I also introduced an improved system of infantry 
tactics, effected the substitution of iron for wood in gun car- 
riages, secured rifled muskets and rifles and the use of minie 
balls, and advocated the increase of the defences of the sea- 
coast by heavy guns and the use of large-grain powder. 

"AVhile in the Senate I had advocated, as a military necessity 
and as a means of preserving the Pacific territory to the Union, 
the construction of a military railway across the continent ; 
and, as Secretary of War, I was put in charge of the survey 
of the various routes proposed. Perhaps for a similar reason — 
my previous action in the Senate — I was also put in charge of 
the extension of the United States capitol. 

" The administration of Mr, Pierce presents the single instance 
of an executive whose cabinet witnessed no change of persons 
during the whole term. At its close, having been re-elected to 
the United States Senate, I re-entered that body. 

"During the discussion of the compromise measures of 1850 
the refusal to extend the Missouri compromise line to the 
Pacific was early put on the ground that there was no consti- 
tutional authority to legislate slavery into or out of any terri- 
tory, which was in fact and seeming intent a repudiation of 
the Missouri compromise ; and it was so treated in the Kansas- 
Nebraska bill. 



A VTOBtOGRAPIIY. 37 

" Subsequently Mr. Douglas, the advocate of what was called 
'squatter sovereignty/ insisted upon the rights of the first immi- 
grants into the territory to decide upon the question whether 
migrating citizens might take their slaves with them ; which 
meant, if it meant anything, that Congress could authorize a 
few settlers to do what it was admitted Congress itself could not 
do. But out of this bill arose a dissension which finally 
divided the democratic party, and caused its defeat in the pres- 
idential election of 1860. 

"And from this empty,;baseless theory grew the Iliad of our 
direst woes. 

"When Congress met in the fall of 1860 I was appointed one 
of a Senate committee of thirteen to examine and report on 
some practicable adjustment of the controversies which then 
threatened the dissolution of the Union. I at first asked to be 
excused from the committee, but at the solicitation of friends 
agreed to serve, avowing my willingness to make any sacrifice 
to avert the impending struggle. The committee consisted of 
men belonging to the three political divisions of the Senate — 
the State Rights Men of the South, the Radicals of the North, 
and the Northern Democrats, with one member who did not ack- 
nowledge himself as belonging to any of the three divisions — 
Mr. Crittenden, an old-time Whig, and the original mover of 
the compromise resolutions. When the committee met it was 
agreed that unless some measure which would receive the sup- 
port of the majority of each of the three divisions could be 
devised, it was useless to make any report ; and after many 
days of anxious discussion and a multiplicity of propositions, 
though the Southern State Rights Men and the Northern Dem- 
ocrats, and the Whigs, Mr. Crittenden, could frequently agree, 
they could never get a majority of the Northern Radicals to 
unite with them in any substantive proposition. Finally, the 
committee reported their failure to find anything on which the 
three divisions could unite. Mr. Douglas, who was a member 



3S THE DAVIS MEMOIilAL VOLUME. 

cf the committee, defiantly challenged the Northern Radicals to 
tell what they wanted. As they had refused everything, he 
claimed that they ought to be willing to tell what they pro- 
posed to do. 

"When officially informed that Mississippi had passed the 
ordinance of secession, I took formal leave of the Senate, 
announcing for the last time the opinions I had so often 
expressed as to State sovereignty, and, as a consequence of it, 
the right of a State to withdraw its delegated powers. Before 
I reached home I had been appointed by the convention of 
Mississippi commander-in-chief of its army, with the rank of 
major-general, and I at once proceeded with the task of organ- 
ization. I went to my home in "Warren county in order to 
prepare for what I believed was to be a long and severe strug- 
gle. Soon a messenger came from the Provisional Confederate 
Congress at Montgomery, bringing the unwelcome notice that 
I had been elected Provisional President of the Confederate 
States. But, reluctant as I was to accept the honor, and care- 
fully as I had tried to prevent the possibility of it, in the cir- 
cumstances of the country, I could not refuse it ; and I was 
inaugurated at Montgomery, February 18, 1861, with Alexan- 
der H, Stephens, of Georgia, as vice-president. 

"From this time to the fall of the Confederate government 
my life was part of the history of the Confederacy, and of the 
war between the States. It is impossible, therefore, to follow it 
in detail. 

"In the selection of a cabinet I was relieved from a difficulty 
which surrounds that duty by the president of the United 
States, for there were no sections' and no 'party' distinc- 
tions. All aspirations, ambitions, and interests had been 
merged in a great desire for Confederate independence. 

"In my inaugural address I asserted that necessity, not choice, 
had led to the secession of the Southern States; that, as an 
agricultural people, their policy was peace and free commerce 



A UTOBIOORAPHY. 39 

with all the world ; that the constituent parts, not the system 
of government, had been changed. 

" The removal of the troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort 
Sumter, the guns of which threatened the harbor of Charles- 
ton, and the attempt to throw re-enforcements into that fort — 
thus doubly breaking a pledge that matters should be kept in 
statu quo — constituted the occasion as well as the justification 
of the opening of fire upon Fort Sumter. Speedily following 
this event came the call for a large arm}'- by Mr. Lincoln, and 
the secession of other Southern States as the consequence of this 
unmistakable purpose of coercion. 

" Virginia, which had led in the effort, by a peace conference, 
to avert national ruin, when she saw the constitution disre- 
garded and the purpose to compel free states by military force 
to submit to arbitrary power, passed an ordinance of secession, 
and joined the Confederate States. 

"Shortly after this, as authorized by the Provisional Con- 
gress, I removed the Confederate capital from Montgomery to 
Kichmond. 

"Among the man}' indications of good will shown when on 
my way to and after my arrival at Richmond was the pur- 
chase of a very fine residence in Richmond by leading citi- 
zens. It was offered as a present ; but, following a rule that 
had governed my action in all such cases, I declined to accept 
it. I continued to live in Richmond until the Confederate 
forces were compelled to withdraw from the defences of the 
capital. 

"That event was not quite unexpected, but it occurred before 
the conditions were fulfilled under which General Lee contem- 
plated retreat. After General Lee was forced to surrender, and 
General Johnston consented to do so, I started, with a very few 
of the men who volunteered to accompany me, lor the Trans- 
Mississippi ; but, hearing on the road that marauders were 
pursuing my family, whom I had not seen since they left Rich- 



40 Tin: DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

mond, but know to be en route to the Florida coast, I clianged 
my direction, and, after a long and hard ride, found them 
encamped and threatened by a robbing party. To give them 
the needed protection 1 traveled 'with them for several days, 
until in the neighborhood of Irvinville, Ga., when I supposed 
I could safely leave them. But, hearing about nightfall, that 
a party of marauders were to attack the camp that night, and 
supposing them to be pillaging deserters from both armies, and 
that the Confederates would listen to me, I awaited their com- 
ing, lay down in my traveling clothes and fell asleep. Late 
in the night my colored coachman aroused me with the intel- 
ligence that the camp was attacked, and I stepped out of the 
tent where my wife and children were sleeping, and saw at 
once that the assailant? were troojDS deploying around the 
encampment. I so informed my wife, who urged me to escape. 
After some hesitation I consented, and a servant woman started 
with me, carrying a bucket as if going to the spring for water. 
One of the surrounding troopers ordered me to halt and 
demanded my surrender. I advanced toward the trooper, 
throwing off a shawl which my wife had put over my should- 
ers. The trooper aimed his carbine, when my wife, who wit- 
nessed the act, rushed forward and threw her arms around me, 
thus defeating my intention, which was, if the trooper missed 
his aim, to try and unhorse him and escape with his horse. 
Then, with every species of petty pillage and oflfensive exhibi- 
tion, I was taken from point to point until incarcerated in Fort- 
ress Monroe.* There I was imprisoned for two years before 
being allowed the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. 

" At length, when the writ was to be issued, the condition was 
imposed by the Federal executive that there should be bonds- 

* For a fuller account of my arrest see statements of United States Senator Reagan ; AV. 
Preston Johnston, president Tulane University ; F. R. Lubbock, Treasurer of Texas ; B. X. 
Harrison, Esq., of Kcw Vork city, all eye witnesses. Also "The Rise and Fall of the Confed- 
erate Government," page 7C0, vol. ii ; and for my life at Fortress Monroe, " The Prison Life 
of Jefferson Davis," by Dr. L. J. J. Craven. New York : Carleton, 1SC6. 



A titOBlOGHAPlIV. 41 

tnen Influential in tlie 'republican' party of the north, Mr. 
Greeley being especially named. Entirely as a matter of jus- 
tice and legal right, and not from motives of personal regard, 
Mr. Greeley, Mr. Gerrit Smith, and other eminent northern 
citizens went on my bond. 

"In May, 1867, after being released from Fortress Monroe, I 
went to Canada, where my older children were, with their 
grandmother; my wife, as soon as permitted, having shared 
my imprisonment, and brought our infant daughter with her. 
From time to time I obeyed summonses to go before the Fede- 
ral court at Richmond, until finally the case was heard by 
Chief-Justice Chase and District Judge Underwood, who were 
divided in opinion, which sent the case to the Supreme Court 
of the United States, and the proceedings were quashed, leav- 
ing me without the opportunity to vindicate myself before the 
highest Federal court 

"After about a year's residence in Canada I went to England 
with my family, under an arrangement that I was to have 
sixty days' notice whenever the United States court required 
my presence. After being abroad in England and on the 
continent about a year, I received an offer of an appointment 
as president of a life insurance company. Thereupon I 
returned to this country, and went to Memphis, and took charge 
of the company. Subsequently I came to the gulf coast of 
Mississippi, as a quiet place where I could prepare my work 
on 'The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.' A 
friend from her infancy, Mrs. Dorsey shared her home with 
me, and subsequently sold to me her property at Beauvoir, an 
estate of five or six hundred acres, about midway between 
Mobile and New Orleans. Before I had fully paid for this 
estate Mrs. Dorsey died, leaving me her sole legatee. From 
the spring of 1876 to the autumn of 1879 I devoted myself to 
the production of the historical work just mentioned. It is an 
octavo book, in two volumes of about 700 pages each. I have 



42 THE DA VIS MEMOJilA L VOLr.}f/:. 

also from time to time contributed essays to the North Ameri- 
can Review and Belford's Magazine and have just completed 
the manuscript of 'A Short History of the Confederate States of 
America/ which is expected to appear early in 1890. 

"Since settling at Beauvoir, I have persistently refused to take 
any active part in politics, not merely because of my disfran- 
chisement, but from a belief that such labors could not be made 
to conduce to the public good, owing to the sectional hostili- 
ties manifested against me since the war. For the same rea- 
son I have also refused to be a candidate for public office, 
although it is well known that I could at any time have been 
re-elected a Senator of the United States. 

"I have been twice married, the second time being in 1844, 
to a daughter of William B. Howell, of Natchez, a son of Gov- 
ernor Howell, of New Jersey. She has borne me six children — 
four sons and two daughters. My sons are all dead; my 
daughters survive. The elder is Mrs. Hayes, of Colorado 
Springs, Col., and the mother of four children. My youngest 
daughter lives with us at Beauvoir, Miss. Born in the last 
year of the war, she became familiarly known as 'the Daughter 
of the Confederacy.' "Jefferson Davis. 

"Beauvoir, Miss., November, 1889." 

The above exceedingly modest, but deeply interesting story 
of his eventful life will increase the public desire to seethe 
fuller autobiography which he was writing, and deepen the 
regret that he was not spared to complete it. 

But after all there are many things to be said about his life 
and character which he would never have said or even inti- 
mated, and while we cannot enter into full details, we must 
give some of the things concerning this great man that ought 
to be written and preserved. 



II. 

HIS BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. 

It is very certain that a love of liberty, a deep-toned patriot- 
ism, a willingness to sacrifice self for country, were inherited 
from the patriot soldier of the revolution, and that the brave 
Captain Samuel Davis, who fought for the colony of Georgia, 
and the other American colonies, against British oppression, 
was a fit progenitor of the chivalric Jefferson Davis, who led 
tlie Confederate States in their great struggle for constitutional 
freedom, 

Althougli the father only remained in Kentucky a few years 
after the birth of his son Jefferson, Mr. Davis always cherished 
a real filial affection for the state of his birth, and early home, 
and Kentucky has been ever proud that she gave him birth, 
and counts him the greatest of all of her illustrious sons. 

One of the most pleasant episodes in his life was his giving 
to the Baptist church in Fairview, Ky., the site of his birth 
place on which to erect a house of worship — his attendance at 
the dedication of this church, November 21, 1886 — and the 
tender, appropriate, and eloquent speech, which he made on 
that occasion. 

There was an immense crowd present; the services were of 
great solemnity and interest; all seemed touched by the pres- 
ence of the veteran president of the Confederacy, and Mr. 
Davis himself was deeply moved by the occasion, and the hal- 
lowed memories which came trooping up from the past, as he 
saw this beautiful house of worship on the site of the humble 
cabin in which he was born. 

(43) 



44 Tlin DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL XJME. 

I am indebted to Mrs. J, 0. Rust, of Hopkinsville, Ky,, for 
the following copy of a report of the brief address he made to the 
assembled multitude, when, after the sermon, which beseemed 
greatly to enjoy, he w^as called on to make some remarks. 

The report is not stenographic, but is said to be nearly his 
exact words. In his graceful style he spoke, in substance, as 
follows : 

" Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congregation: My heart is always 
filled with gratitude to you, who extend to me so many kind- 
nesses. I am thankful that I can give you this lot upon wdiich 
to worship the triune God. It has been asked why I, who am not 
a Baptist, give this lot to the Baptist church? I am not a Bap- 
tist, but my father, who was a better man than I, was a Baptist. 

"Wherever I go, wdien I come here, I feel 'that tliis is my 
own, my native land.' When I see this beautiful church it 
refills my heart with thanks. It shows the love you bear, 
your creator; it shows your capacity for building to your God. 
The pioneers of this country, as I have learned from history, 
were men of j)lain, simple habits, full of energy and imbued 
with religious principles. Tliey lived in a day before the dawn 
of sectarian disturbances and sectional strifes. In their rude 
surroundings and teachings it is no w^ondcr that they learned 
that God was love. 

"I did not come here to speak. I would not mar with 
speech of mine the effect of the beautiful sermon to which y«u 
have . listened. I simply tender to you, through the trustees 
of Bethel, the site upon which this church stands. May the 
God of heaven bless this community forever, and may the 
Saviour of tlie world preserve this church to His worship for 
all time to come." 

But in his early youth his father removed to the neighbor- 
hood of Woodville, Wilkinson Co., in what was then the terri- 
tory of Mississippi, and henceforth Jefferson Davis became, 
inius et in cute, a Mississippian. 



III. 

THE COLLEGE BOY. 

He was prepo.ied at home to enter Transylvania University 
Ky., at an earlier age than was usual, and he made rapid pro- 
gress in his studies here, until, at the age of sixteen, he was 
appointed by President Monroe a cadet at the United States 
Military i^.cademy at West Point. 

At Transylvania University he formed an intimacy with 
George W. Jones, of Iowa, which continued unabated through- 
out his life, and one of the most touching incidents of his 
death v-as that when Mr. Jones learned of his illness he started 
from his home in the Northwest to see him, but only reached 
New Orleans after his death. He was one of the pall-bearers, 
and it was ver}-- touching to see the old man's deep grief, and 
to hear him say as he witnessed that outpouring of the people : 
" Oh! just see these vast crowds which come to do honor to my 
precious friend, Jefferson Davis." 

During his visit to New Orleans the Times- Democrat pub- 
lished the following interview with him, and although mucli 
of it relates to other periods than his college days, it is of such 
deep interest tliat we insert the whole of it here as follows: 

"Of the many who are bowed down with grief at the death 
of ex-President Davis, comparatively few feel it more keenly 
than General George Wallace Jones, of Dubuque, Iowa. His 
friendship for Mr. Davis dated back to boyhood, when he and the 
ex-Prcsident were college mates. The news of Mr. Davis's dan- 
gerous illness reached General Jones at his home in Dubuque, 
Iowa, and he at once determined to visit him once more 

(40) 



THE COLLEGE BOY, 47 

before lie died. Hurrying South, he reached the city yester- 
day morning, too late by only a few hours to once more clasp 
the hand of his oldest and dearest friend. He was deeply 
pained and disappointed at the result of his long journey, but 
he consoles himself with the reflection that he has at least the 
opportunity of paying the last formal tribute to the ashes of 
one who was so dear to him in life. 

" General Jones was yesterday so oppressed with grief that 
he could think of little but the present and its immediate con- 
cerns, and it was with some difficulty that he could sufficiently 
command his emotions to enable him to give anything like a 
succinct and consecutive story of his 2)ersonal relations with 
the late ex-president. 

"They were classmates at Transylvania University, Lexing- 
ton, Ky., in 1820. His acquaintance with Jefferson Davis com- 
menced in October of that year. Young Davis was then consid- 
.ered by the faculty the brightest and most intelligent, and by 
his fellow-students the bravest and handsomest of all the collese 
boys. In November, 1824, Jefferson Davis was appointed to a 
cadetship at West Point by President ]\Ionroe, and as Mr. 
Jones remained at the university and graduated in 1825, the 
friends drifted apart. 

"The next I knew of 'Jeff,' as we used to call him," said 
General Jones, "was in 1828. He had graduated at West 
Point and had been assigned to duty as second lieutenant in a 
United States cavalry command at Fort Crawford, Prairie du 
Chien, then Michigan Territory, but now the State of "Wis- 
consin. It was late in the year, and late one night, when a 
cavalry lieutenant and a sergeant rode up to my log cabin at 
Sinsinawa ]\Iound, about fifty miles from Fort Crawford and 
inquired for Mr. Jones. I told him that I answered to that 
name. The lieutenant tlien asked me if tliey could remain 
there all night. I told him that they were welcome to share 
]ny buffalo robes and blankets, and that their horses could be 
coialled wJtIi miiui on the prairie. 



48 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLU3IE. 

" The officer then asked me if I had ever been at the Transyl- 
vania University. 1 answered that I had been there from 1820 
to 1825. 

" * Do you remember a college boy named Jeff. Davis ? ' " 

'' ' Of course, I do.' " 

*"Iam Jeff.'" 

" That was enough for me. I pulled him off his horse and 
into my cabin, and it was hours before either of us could 
think of sleeping. I could never forget that night if I were 
to live a thousand years. Lieutenant Davis remained at my 
cabin for some days, and after the unconstrained manner of 
early frontier life we had a delightful time. 

" In 1832 we became associated in the famous Black Hawk 
war, he as lieutenant of infantry, and I as aid-de-camp to 
General Henry Dodge, commanding the militia of Michigan 
Territory. I often accepted his invitation to partake of his 
hospitality, as well as that of General (then Captain) William 
S. Harney and Colonel Zachariah Taylor, who often divided 
their rations with me, as we volunteers were often in want of 
suitable food. 

"The regulars were much better provided for than we volun- 
teers were at that time. They were not only furnished with 
better rations and more of them, but they had tents while we 
had none, and I shall never forget the generous hospitality of 
Lieutenant Davis, Captain W. S. Harney, Colonel Zachariah 
Taylor, and others of my brave and generous comrades of 
those days. » 

" Li the winter of 1832-3, Lieutenant Davis was sent to the 
Dubuque lead mines, which at the termination of the trouble 
had been occupied by squatters. He was directed by the War 
Department, through Colonel Zachariah Taylor, to remove 
these squatters. Lieutenants Gardner and Wilson, who pre- 
ceded him, having failed to drive the people off. 

" Lieutenant Davis, by his concilliatory efforts and kindness, 
soon got tliem to leave under an assurance tliat their claims 



THE COLLEGE BOY. 49 

would be recognized as soon as the treaty made with the Sacs 
and Fox Indians should be ratified by the United States Senate, 
which he felt confident would be the case. He induced all 
the men to leave, but permitted one woman to remain in her 
husband's cabin, as the winter was excessively severe. She 
remained ever afterward his devoted friend, up to her deatii, 
about two years ago. 

"While Lieutenant Davis was encamped opposite Dubuque, 
my present home, he often visited me. lie was a great favor- 
ite with my boys, whom he used to hold on his knees and 
fondle as if they had been his own. Two of them afterward 
served under him in the cause of the Confederacy. 

''As soon as my youngest son. Captain G. 17. G. Jones, 
learned oi the firing on Fort Sumter he hurried to Nashville, 
where he and his brothers had graduated from the AVestern 
Military Institute. ]\Iy son offered his services, and Governor 
Isham G. Harris (now a senator in Congress, and witli whom I 
had served in the United States Senate) sent for him and 
appointed him a captain. My son was taken prisoner at the 
surrender of Fort Henry, sent for a few days for safe keeping 
to the penitentiary at Alton, III., with other i^risoners of war, 
and removed thence to Johnson's island in Lake Erie. 

" The story of the service of my eldest son, Charles S. D. 
Jones, under Jefferson Davis, is as follows : In the spring or 
summer of '62, after my return from Bogota, he left Dubuque 
and went with his young wife to Frankfort, Ky., and thence 
to Richmond, Va. He did not tell me where he was going 
when he left. At Richmond he applied to President Davis for 
a position. Mr. Davis having written to Bushrod Johnson, 
under whom my son had graduated, the latter appointed him 
one of his adjutant-generals. He served in this capacity till 
he was taken prisoner somewhere in Virginia, when he was 
sent to Fort Delaware, near Wilmington. 
4/ 



.^0 JHF DA VIS MEMORTA L VOL UME. 

"On one occasion, I believe I saved Mr. Davis's life. It was 
in 1838, when I was the first delegate to Congress from Wis- 
consin territory. Jefferson Davis reached Washington in the 
winder, and immediately called to see me where I was staying, 
at Dawson boarding-house, not more than one hundred yards 
northeast of the present Senate chamber. 

"Among the prominent men staying at the same house were 
Senators Thomas H. Benton, of INfissouri; Dr. Lewis F. Linn, 
William Allen, of Ohio, and forty or fifty others. I introduced 
Lieutenant Davis to my friends. He was then on his way to 
his home in Mississippi from Havana, whither he had gone 
for his health. He soon won the high esteem and respect of 
all the foremost men at the national capital. He was my guest 
when I seconded Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, in the great duel 
with AVilliam J, Graves, of Kentucky, in which Cilley was 
killed. 

"On one occasion that winter Davis and I accompanied Dr. 
Linn, the 'model senator' from Missouri, and Senator Allen, of 
Ohio, to a reception given by the Secretary of War. Dr. Linn 
and I returned home, leaving Senator Allen and Davis to 
return home with John J. Crittenden of Ivy., and Calhoun, 
at Crittenden's request. After Dr. Linn and I got to bed 
we heard the voice of Allen at a distance. He and Davis 
soon entered our room. 

"Mr. Davis was bleeding profusely from a deep cut in his 
head, and the blood was streaming down over his face, and 
upon his white tie, shirt front, and white waistcoat. 

"Mr, Allen, missing the bridge (Mr. Allen being sup- 
posed to be familiar with the road), they had both fallen 
into the Tiber, a small stream which tliey had to cross. Allen 
had alighted on his feet, but Mr. Davis, who was perfectly 
sober, had pitched head foremost into the creek and cut his 
head badl3^ He was covered with blood, and his clothes were 
drenched with water and stained with mud. Mr. Davis was 



THE COLLEGE BO Y. 51 

on the verge of fainting from loss of ])looJ, wlicn Dr. Linn an:l 
myself applied the jDioper restoratives, and soon, as we thought, 
brought him around all right. The next morning I went into 
his room and found him almost dead. I informed Dr. Linn of 
his condition, and after several hours' hard work we restored 
him to consciousness. Dr. Linn remarked that he would have 
been dead liad I been five minutes later in reaching him. 

"My next meeting with !Mr. Davis was in 1846, when I vis- 
ited Washington as surveyor-general of Wisconsin, Iowa, and 
Minnesota, and jnit up at the same house as did Mr. Davis and 
his accomplished wife. 

"One day as I sat by his side in t]ic House of Representa- 
tives talking to him, he turned suddenly and said: 'General, 
General Dodge says you are financially embarrassed and in 
need of money.' I answered that I was, there being a judg- 
ment against me for $400. He immediately drew a draft on 
his friend and commission merchant, J. U. Payne, of New 
Orleans, payable to my order for §1,000. I then wrote out and 
handed him my note for $1,000, with interest at 10 per cent. 
He tore it up and threw it on the floor, saying: 'Jones, when 
you have more money than you know what to do witli you 
may pay tiiis, and not before.' 

"In 1853, when Franklin Pierce became president, I, as tlie 
first Senator from Iowa, recommended my old friend and com- 
j^anion for Secretary of "W'^ar, and lie was also endorsed by the 
prominent men of the times. 

"In 18G1, while I was minister at Bogota, at the suggestion 
of General W. S. Harney, I wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis, 
requesting him to use his best efforts to have my son restored 
to his commission as lieutenant in the Second United States 
cavalry, he having resigned. That letter was intercepted by 
W. H. Seward, then Secretary of State under Mr. Lincoln. I 
was recalled, and on my arrival was given a diplomatic dinner 
by Seward. Six days after I was imprisoned in Fort Lafayette, 



52 THE DA VTS MEMOI7IA L VOL UMll 

December 22, on a telegram sent by W, H. Seward to Colonel 
Kennedy, chief of the detective force in New York. On Feb- 
ruary 22, 1862, I was released by order of Secretary of War 
Stanton, who informed me that he could see no reason why I 
had been imprisoned," 

"You, of course, have vivid recollections of your college 
days together. Wliat were Mr. Davis's distinguishing traits at 
college?" 

"At college ]\Ir. Davis was much the same as he was in after 
life. Always gay and brimful of buoyant spirits, but without 
the smallest tendency toward vice or immorality. He had 
that innate refinement and gentleness that distinguished him 
through life. He was always a gentleman in the highest sense 
of the word. Aside from the high moral tone and unswerving 
devotion to conscience which characterized his whole careen 
Mr. Davis was always too gentle and refined to have any taste 
for vice or immorality in any form. He never was perceptibly 
under the influence of liquor and he never gambled. 

"This statement concerning him, though based primarily 
on my personal knowledge of Mr. Davis, is not unsupported 
by the testimony of others who were equally intimate with 
him. 

"About four years and a half ago, I paid a delightful visit 
to the South, where I divided my time between the houses of 
my dear old friends and comrades, Jefferson Davis, at Beau- 
voir, and William S. Harney, at Pass Christian. One day 
while talking to General Harney, the conversation turned 
upon a canard I had seen in a western newspaper which pro- 
fessed to relate an incident that took place at a gaming table 
at which Mr. Davis had been playing. 

" ' It is an infamous, cowardly lie,' shouted General Harney, 
in his vigorous, impetuous way. * Why, everybody who knows 
Jefferson Davis knows that he never gambled in his life. He 
always looked upon gaming with especial aversion. Jefferson 



THE COLLEGE BO Y, 53 

Davis never gambled for stakes large or small and never was 
under the influence of liquor in his life. I wish I could find 
the man who told that story and I'd make him swallow it.'" 

" General Jones also alluded to the story of Mr- Davis's elope- 
ment with Miss Knox Taylor. 

"Of course, the story of the elopement was a ridiculous 
falsehood; but I will go further than this and assure you that 
there never was the slightest unpleasantness between Colonel 
Taylor and Lieutenant Davis. I have the facts from IT. L. 
Dousman, who was intimate with Colonel Zach. Taylor when 
the latter was stationed at Fort Crawford. When Lieutenant 
Davis proposed for the hand of INIiss Knox Taylor, Colonel Tay- 
lor said to Mr. Dousman that, while he had nothing but the 
kindliest feeling and warmest admiration for Mr. Davis, he was 
in a general way opposed to having his daughter marry a 
soldier. Nobody better than he knew the trials to which a 
soldier's life was subjected. His own wife and daughter had 
complained so bitterly of his almost constant absence from 
home and of their own torturing anxieties for his safety, he 
had once resolved that his daughter should never marry a 
soldier with his approval. Aside from this, however, there 
was no reason why the proposal of Lieutenant Davis should 
not meet with his warmest approbation." 

"General Jones left Dubuque on Monday night, and reaching 
here at 11 o'clock on Thursday night he went at once to the 
St. Charles Hotel, and knew nothing of the death of the friend 
whom he had traveled so far to see till yesterday morning, 
when he saw the announcement in the newspapers. Later in 
the day, General Jones visited the Fenner residence, and 
though Mrs. Davis had declined to see any one she unhesitat- 
ingly made an exception in favor of so old and dear a friend 
of her late husband as General Jones. The General was imme- 
diately ushered into the darkened room where, all alone, close 
beside the ashes of her dead husband, sat the widow, Avho 



54 THE DA VIS MEMOHIAL VOLUME. 

received him with that gentle and cordial demeanor that has 
won the hearts of all who have met Mrs. Davis. After a long 
interview General Jones withdrew, promising to write Mrs 
Davis very fully the reminiscences of Lieutenant Davis, and his 
services on what was once the northwestern frontier. 

"General Jones, though eighty-five years old, looks very much 
younger. Erect and soldier-like in bearing, rather spare in 
form, modestly but faultlessly dressed, he is essentially a gen- 
tleman of the good old school. A light, elastic step, a fresh, 
ruddy complexion, and a luxuriant growth of silver- white hair 
and beard, combine to make General Jones a striking figure 
in any assembly of gentlemen. He will remain till after the 
funeral." 

The Jjouisville Courier Journal says : 

" Judge Peters, of Mount Sterling, and the late Jefferson 
Davis were classmates for two years at Transylvania. The 
judge has set down some recollections of the Southern states- 
man, though it is more than sixty-five years since they saw 
each other. He says : 

" When I was with him he was a good student, always pre- 
pared with his lessons, very respectful and jiolite to the presi- 
dent and professors. I never heard him reprimanded for neg- 
lecting his studies or for misconduct of any sort during his 
stay at the university. He was amiable, prudent and kind to 
all with whom he was associated, and beloved by teachers and 
students. Pie was rather taciturn in disposition. He was of 
good form, indicating a good constitution; attractive in 
appearance, a well-shaped head, and of manly bearing, espe- 
cially for one of his age. He did not often engage in the 
sport of the students, which was playing at foot-ball, perhaps 
because lie did not choose to lose the time from his studies." 



IV. 

THE WEST POINT CADET. 

As has been said he left Transylvania in 1824, when only 
16 years old, to accept an appointment as cadet at the United 
States Military Academy, which was conferred on him by 
President Monroe, through Secretary John C. Calhoun, whose 
disciple he was to become, and with whom he was to serve in 
the United States Senate. 

His cadet life at West Point presented no very marked char- 
acteristics, or incidents, except that it brought him in contact 
with many bright young fellows who were afterwards to figure 
in the annals of the army, and developed his own manhood 
and military zeal. 

A fellow-cadet thus wrote of him : " Jefferson Davis was dis- 
tinguished in the corps for his manly bearing, his high-toned 
and lofty character. His figure was very soldier-like and 
rather robust; liis step springy, resembling the tread of an 
Indian ' brave ' on the war path." 

Cullom's "West Point Register" gives the names of his class 
and the order of their graduation in June, 1828, as follows: 

1. xUbert E. Church, of Connecticut ; 2. Richard C. Tilgh- 

iiian, of Maryland; 3. Hugh W. Mercer, of Virginia; 

4. Robert E. Temple, of Vermont; 5. Charles*. O. Collins, of 

New York ; G. I. J. Austin, of Massachusetts ; 7. Edmund 

French, of Connecticut; 8. Joseph L. Lock, of Maine; 

9, George E. Chase, of Massachusetts ; 10. John F. Lane, born 

in Kentucky, appointed from Indiana; 11. William Palmer, 

born in Pennsylvania, appointed frcni Indiana; 12. Thomas 
(65) • ■ ' 



56 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

B, Adams, of Massachusetts ; 13. Robert E. Clary, of Massa- 
cliusettc ; 14. Robert Sevier, of Tennessee ; 15. William W. 
Mather, of Connecticut; 16. Enos G. Mitchell, of Connecticut; 
17. James F.Izard, of Pennsylvania; 18. Thomas Cutt, born 
in the District of Columbia, appointed from Maine ; 19. Wil- 
liam H. Baker, born in Michigan, appointed from Vermont; 
20 James L. Thompson, of Tennessee ; 21. Gustave S. Rous- 
seau, of Louisiana ; 22. Benjamin W. Kinsinan, of Maine ; 
23. Jefferson Davis, born in Kentucky, appointed from Mis- 
sissippi ; 24. William L. E. Morrison, Missouri, appointed 
from Illinois ; 25. Samuel K. Cobb, South Carolina, ai:»pointed 
from Alabama ; 26. Samuel Torrence, born in Pennsylvania, 
appointed from Ohio ; 27. Amos Foster, of New Hampshire ; 
28. Thomas F. Drayton, of South Carolina ; 29. Thomas C. 
Brockaway, of Connecticut ; 30. John R. B. Gardenier, of New 
York; 31. Crafts J. Wright, New York, appointed from Ohio; 
32. James W. Penrose, of ^Missouri; 33. Philip R. Van Wyck, 
of New Jersey. 

The best sketch of Mr. Davis of all of the newspaper 
sketches which we have seen, appeared in the New Orleans 
Times-Democrat, and it gives so admirable a statement of his 
associations at West Point, and his career as a young officer, 
that we cannot do better than to quote from it freely : 

"Among his classmates at West Point were Albert E. Church, 
afterward distinguished as a mathematician and for many 
years professor of that department at West Point ; Hugh W. 
Mercer, and Thomas F. Dra3'ton, who became general officers 
in the Confederate army, and J. R. B. Gardenier, who, in 
addition to no little active service in the army, had achieved 
some reputation in light literature before his death in 1850. 
Several of the class died very young — among them James F. 
Izaid, an intimate friend of Davis, and an officer of great 
prom^e, who died of wounds received in a skirmish with the 
Indians while yet a subaltern, in 1836, during the Seminole 



THE WEST POINT CADET. 57 

war. With the exception, however, of Jefferson Davis himself, 
but few of his class have attained special eminence — none any 
brilliant or historic reputation — either in civil or military 
pursuits. 

"And yet — although now long recognized as facile in-inccps 
among his fellow-cadets of that period — his class rank in the 
academy was relatively low. He graduated in 1828, No. 23, 
in a class of thirty-three. It would be interesting to know 
(what, perhaps the records of the academy might show.) in 
what particular departments of study or discipline the defi- 
ciencies were found, which operated to reduce his academical 
rank. 

" Although, as above stated, ^Ir. Davis's own class has furn- 
ished but few distinguished names, yet among his associates at 
West Point, in the classes above and below him, were many 
who have since become famous. Alexander Dallas Bachc was 
three years ahead of him, and graduated, first of his class, in 

1825. Of the same date were Alexander H, Bowman, who, 
as an engineer officer, had a leading part in the construction 
of Fort Sumter, and was afterwards superintendent of the 
]\Iilitary Academy ; Benjamin Huger, major-general in the 
Confederate army, and Kobert Anderson, Avho made the 
memorable defense of Fort Sumter in 1861. 

"Albert Sidney Johnston, the lifelong i)ersonal friend of 
Davis, and regarded by him as the ablest of Confederate gen- 
erals, was an older man by five years, but only two years his 
senior in cadetship, graduating number eight of his class, in 

1826. In the same class of 1826 were Samuel P. Heintzelman, 
^Martin P. Parks, afterwards an eminent clergyman, chaplain 
and professor at West Point, Amos P. Eaton, late Commissary- 
General of the United States army, Silas Casey, Leonidas Polk, 
the warrior-bishop, Gabriel J. Kains and Philip St. George 
Cooke were among the graduates of the class of 1827, imme- 
diately senior to that of Davis. 



58 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston, the most illustrious 
of his associates, though older by birth, were both his juniors 
at AVest Point by one year. Among others of the three classes 
junior to his own were 0. M. Mitchell, more distinguished in 
after years as an astronomer than as a general officer of the 
Federal army during the late war; Charles W, Hockley, 
Francis Vinton and "William N. Pendleton — all afterward 
eminent clergymen of the Episcopal church, and the last named 
brigadier- general of artillery in the Confederate army; Sidney 
Burbank, AVilliam Hoffman, Albert G. Blanchard, of Louisiana, 
a general officer of the Confederate army ; Caleb C. Sibley, 
Theophilus H. Holmes, AVilliam S. Basingen (a brilliant young 
officer, who graduated second in the class of 1830, and was 
killed in the massacre of Dade's command by the Seminoles 
in 1 835) ; John Bankhead Magruder (' Prince John,' of the 
United States army before the war and afterward of the Con- 
federate army); Albert T. Bledsoe, Assistant Secretary of War 
in the Confederate government, and eminent in theology, 
literature and political science; Lloyd J. Beall, Robert C. 
Buchanan, George W. Patten, soldier and poet; Henry Clay, 
Jr., who was killed at Buena Vista ; Samuel C. Ridgely and 
George PL Talcott, both artillery officers of much distinction 
in the Seminole and Mexican wars; Andrew A. Hum- 
phreys, Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army; William PL Emory, 
Lucius B. Northrop, Confederate Commissary-General during 
the greater part of the late war; Samuel R. Curtis, Charles 
Whittlesey, geologist, author and journalist, and others of more 
or less note." 



V. 

THE YOUNG OFFICER. 

"On his graduation young Davis (then twenty years of age) 
was breveted second lieutenant in the Sixth regiment of infan- 
try and soon after transferred to the First infantry, with a full 
commission of the same grade. 

"Mr. Davis gave in private conversation an amusing account 
of his first report for duty in active service. Being (as he said) 
sometliing of a martinet, he arrayed himself in full uniform 
and made his way to the regimental headquarters. The colo- 
nel and lieutenant-colonel being botli absent — or perhaps one 
or both of those positions being vacant — the command of the 
regiment had devolved upon Major (afterward colonel and 
brevet-major-general) Bennett Riley. The major was not in, and 
the young officer was directed to the quarters of the commis- 
sary to find him. Repairing to the place indicated, he found 
Major Riley alone, seated at a table, with a pack of cards before 
him, intently occupied in a game of solitaire. In response to 
Davis's formal salute, he nodded, invited him to take a seat 
and continued his game. Looking up after a few minutes, he 
inquired, 'Young man, do 3'ou play solitaire? Finest game in 
the world ! You may cheat as much as you please, and have 
nobody to detect it.' 

"Major Riley, who W'as a blunt soldier of the old school, 
afterward became very fond of the young lieutenant, habitually 
addressing liini when off duty as 'My son!' They met eigh- 
teen years afterward, when Davis, with liis regiment of Missis- 
sippians, joined the army of General Taylor on the Mexican 

(59) 



60 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

frontier, 'Well, my son/ said the old soldier, 'here we are 
again. Good luck to you, my boy ! As for me — six feet of 
Mexican soil, or a j^ellow sash !' He won the yellow sash — the 
distinctive mark of a general officer — by a double right, and 
left his share of the Mexican soil unoccupied. 

"In this latter regiment he served for several years, chiefly 
in what was then the northwestern frontier. During this period 
occurred the 'Black Hawk war,' in both campaigns of which 
he took an active part. The surrender of Black Hawk, which 
closed the war, in 1832, although actually made to a party of 
"Winnebago Indians, allies of tlie whites, was tendered to 
them in order to avoid capture by a detachment under com- 
mand of Lieutenant Davis, who had pursued Black Hawk's 
party to an island in the Mississippi and cut off their intended 
retreat to the Avestern bank of that river. Black Hawk and 
his principal warriors were retained for some time as hostages. 
They were sent to St. Louis under charge of Lieutenant Davis, 
whose soldierly bearing and considerate courtesy of treatment 
made a deeply favorable impression upon the captive chief 

"The services of Lieutenant Davis in these operations were 
handsomely recognized by his official superiors, but his own 
often avowed opinion was that the true heroes of that so-called 
'war' were the Indians, both men and women, to whose cour- 
age, fortitude, endurance of hardships, fertility of resources, 
and constancy of purpose under the most appalling trials, diffi- 
culties and privations, he bore witness in terms of unqualified 
admiration. 

" To this period of his life belongs the mention of a severe 
test to which his fidelity to principle was subjected — or at least 
threatened with subjection — and to which he himself some- 
times referred as an illustration of the early formation of those 
convictions which governed his political course in maturer 
years. The circumstance derives its chief interest from the 
fact that wo are enabled to 2)rcsent it in ^Ir. Davis's own words, 













i4'eiii,v' V ■/ \ 



BATTLE OF BAD AXE. 

Scene in the Black Hawk War. It is worthy of note that Jefterson Davis and Alxahaiu 

Lincoln were both in the United States Array, and at this battle Davis 

in the active and Lincoln in tlie reserve force. 



rilE YOUNG OFFICER. 01 

as written in a manuscript never heretofore published. In 
tliis he says: 

"'The nullification by South Carolina in 1832 of certain 
acts of Congress, the consequent proclamation of President 
Jackson, and the 'Force Bill' soon afterwards enacted, presented 
the probability that the troops of the United States would be 
employed to enforce the execution of the laws in that State, 
and it was supposed that the regiment to which I belonged 
would in that event be ordered to South Carolina. 

'"By education, by association, and by preference, I was a 
8oldier, then regarding that profession as my vocation for life. 
Yet, looking the issue scjuarel}^ in the face, I chose the alterna- 
tive of abandoning my profession rather than be employed in 
the subjugation of, or coercion of, a State of the Union, and had 
fully determined and was prepared to resign my commission 
immediately on the occurrence of such a contingency. The 
compromise of 1833 prevented the threatened calamity, 
and the sorrowful issue was deferred until a day more drear, 
which forced upon me the determination of the question of 
State sovereignty or federal supremacy — of independence or 
submission to unsurpation.' 

"The language of this brief statement of the case combines 
the expression of resolute and inflexible adherence to dutj'', 
with a touching and almost pathetic sense of the magnitude of 
the responsibility involved and of the sacrifice required, the 
unaffected sincerity of which will be doubted by none who 
knew the character of Jefferson Davis. 

" Early in the year of 1833 Lieutenant Davis, having been 
selected as one of the officers of the newly organized First regi- 
ment of dragoons, was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant 
and transferred to that regiment, in which he was immediately 
assigned to duty as adjutant. In this capacity he took part 
in an expedition of somewhat extensive scope among the 
Indian tribes of the great AYestern plains, some of whom were 



()L' TITE DA T 7.V MEMO A' L I /. I 'OL I 'ME. 

disaffected or unfriendly. The object of the expedition, how- 
ever, was to avert ratlier tluui to suppress hostilities, b}'' exhib- 
iting to them something of the military power of the United 
States and cultivating their i-espect and good-will. 

"After some farther .service, chiefly in garrison duty on the 
northwestern frontier, Lieutenant Davis resigned liis commis- 
sion in the army in .June, 1835, to engage in cotton planting 
in the Mississippi Valley. About the same time he married 
Miss Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of Colonel Zachary Taylor, 
afterwards President of the United States. 

"[There is no truth whatever in the often repeated story 
that this marriage was effected in opposition to the wishes of 
the 3'oung lady's family, by means of an elopement. The 
only sendjlance of foundation for it is the fact that a breach of 
friendly relations had existed for some time between Colonel 
Taylor and Lieutenant Davis, Its origin was in a purely 
military question, which had arisen between flie former as 
commander, and the latter as adjutant, of a post. It involved 
nothing affecting the personal character of either, although it 
was serious enough to cause a suspension of personal inter- 
course between them. Mr. Davis wrote to Colonel Taylor, in- 
forming liim of the engagement and intended marriage. The 
young lady was legally of age, and his consent was not for- 
mall)^ asked, but no opposition was expressed. Colonel Taylor 
was a widower, on duty as commander of a frontier post, but 
the marriage took place at the house of a near kinswoman of 
the bride, in Kentucky, openly and without concealment, and 
in the presence of several friends and relations of her family.]" 



VI. 

IN RETIREMENT. 

The retirement of the young officer to the shades of private 
life seemed to his friends at the time the throwing away of a 
splendid opportunity, if not tlie cutting short of a brilliant 
career. But it was really the entering of the best school in 
which to make careful preparation for the grand life before 
him, and his quiet years of study and of thought at Briarfield 
were the necessary prelude to those after years of active par- 
ticipation in the most stirring debates of Congress, and the most 
stupendous events ever enacted on this continent. 

The facile pen and accurate statement of the writer above 
quoted may best give the story of his retirement, and of the 
circumstances under which he afterwards entered public life: 

"Briarfield, the estate to which Mr. Davis retired on his 
marriage and resignation from the army, is situated in War- 
ren .county, Mississippi, on the Mississipj)i river, some twenty 
miles or more below Vicksburg. It was generally understood 
to be a gift from his elder brother, Joseph Emory Davis, from 
whose larger estate, 'Hurricane,' it had been cut off for the 
purpose. It was in a remote and isolated neighborhood, but 
the young ex-soldier and planter applied himself with assid- 
uity to its cultivation and improvement. 

" Mr. Davis's wife died a few months after marriage. After 
this misfortune he lived for some years in great seclusion and 
retirement. His brother v/as his only habitual associate. 
This brother was many years his senior, being the oldest, as 
Jefferson was the youngest, of the ten children of their parents. 

(63) 



64 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

A warm attachment existed between them. Jefferson Davis, 
in tlie unpublished memoranda already referred to, speaks of 
him as having stood in loco jxircntis with regard to himself after 
the death of their father, which occurred in the boyhood of 
the younger son, and adds, perhaps with something of frater- 
nal partiality: 'He was a profound law^'er, a wise man, a bold 
thinker, a zealous advocate of the principles of the constitu- 
tion, as understood by its founders, with a wide-spreading 
humanity, which manifested itself especially in a patriarchal 
care of tlie many negroes dependent upon him, not merely for 
the supply of their physical wants, but also for their moral 
and mental elevation, with regard to which he had more hope 
tlian most men of his large experience. To him, materially, 
as well as intellectually, I am more indebted than to all other 
men.' 

" These years of retirement afforded also large opportuni- 
ties for reading, in the course of which the practical details of 
his West Point education and earlier military pursuits were 
supplemented by a wider and more liberal range of studies, 
and by the acquisition of a store of general information^ 
which were an admirable outfit fur his subsequent career as a 
statesman." 




— Vi^i 



VII. 

HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 

" It was in 1843, when 35 years of age, and eight years after 
his resignation from the army, that Mr. Davis was somewhat 
suddenly and unexpectedly called from his retirement to tako 
an active part in politics, in the service of the democratic (or 
State rights) party, as a candidate for the representation of his 
county (Warren) in the legislature of Mississippi. His own 
account of the circumstances is, for several reasons, of special 
interest. We give it in his own words : 

'"The canvass had advanced to a period within one week of 
the election, when the democrats became dissatisfied with their 
candidate and resolved to withdraw him, and I was requested 
to take his place. The whigs had a decided majority in the 
county, and there were two v»^hig candidates against the one 
democrat. When I was announced, one of the whig candi- 
dates withdrew, which seemed to render my defeat certain; so, 
at least, I regarded it. Our opponents must have thought 
otherwise, for they put into the field for the canvass — though 
himself not a candidate — the greatest popular orator of tli(3 
State — it is not too much to say the greatest of his day — Sar- 
gent S. Prentiss; and my first public speech was made in oppo- 
sition to him. This led to an incident perhaps worthy of 
mention. 

"'An arrangement was made by our respective parties for a 
debate between Mr. Prentiss and myself on tho day of election, 
each party to be allowed fifteen minutes alternately. Before 
the day appointed I met Mr. Prentiss to agree upon the ques- 

(66) 



HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 67 

tionsto be discussed, eliminating all those with regard to which 
there was no difference between us, although they might be 
involved in the canvass. Among these was one which had 
already been decided by the legislature of Mississippi, and had 
thus become in some measure an historical question, but which 
was still the subject of political discussion, viz. : that of 'repu- 
diation.' On this question there was a slight difference between 
us. He held that the ' Union bank bonds ' constituted a debt 
of the State. I believed that they were issued unconstitution- 
ally, but that, as the fundamental law of the State authorized 
it to be issued, the question of debt or no debt was one to be 
determined by the courts ; and if the bonds should be adjudged 
to be a debt of the State, I was in favor of paying them. As. 
therefore, we were agreed with regard to the principle that the 
State might create a debt, and that in such case the people are 
bound to pay it, there was no such difference between us as to 
require a discussion of the so-called question of 'repudiation/ 
which turned upon the assumption that a State could not 
create a debt, or, in the phraseology of the period, that one 
generation could not impose such obligations upon another. 

'"There was another set of obligations known as the 'Plan- 
ters' bank bonds,' the legality of which 1 never doubted, and 
for which I thought the legislature was bound to make timely 
provision. 

"'To return to the incident spoken of Mr. Prentiss and I 
met at the court-house on the day of the election, improvised 
a stand at the foot of the stairs, up which the voters passed to 
the polling room, and there spent the day in discussion. There 
was but one variation from the terms originally agreed upon. 
Mr. Prentiss having said that he could not always condense 
his argument so as fully to state it within fifteen minutes, I 
consented that the time should be extended, provided he would 
strictly confine himself to the point at issue. He adhered 
tenaciously to the limitation thus imposed, argued closely and 



68 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

j^owerfully, and impressed me with his capacity for analysis 
and logical induction more deeply than any other effort that I 
ever knew him to make. 

" 'The result of the election, as anticipated, was my defeat. 
As this was the only occasion on which I was ever a candi- 
date for the legislature of Mississippi, it may be seen how 
utterly unfounded was the allegation that attributed to mo 
any part in the legislative enactment known as the * Act of 
Repudiation.' " 

" To this statement it may be added that not only was it 
Mr. Davis's first aj^pearance in the political arena as a candi- 
date for the Legislature, subsequent to the repudiation of the 
bonds, but that he never, at any time, before or afterward, held 
any civil office, legislative, executive or judicial, in the State 
government. Furthermore, that his supposed sympathy with 
the advocates of the payment of the debt by the State was 
actually (though ineffectually) employed among the repudia- 
tors as an objection to his election to Congress in 1845. The 
idea of attaching any share of responsibility to him for the 
repudiation of the bonds was of later origin. In his latter 
years he felt, and sometimes expressed, strong indignation at 
the remark of General Scott (in a note to his autobiography, 
vol. I, page 148,) relative to the ' Mississippi bonds, repudiated 
mainly by Mr. Jefferson Davis.' He spoke in terms of still 
severer censure of the late Robert J. Walker, whom he 
believed to have propagated the same calumny while finan- 
cial agent of the United States in Europe during the war, 
although he was personally familiar with all the facts of the 
true history of the transaction. 

"The political career of ]\Ir. Davis was now fairly begun, 
and whatever reluctance or hesitancy he may have shown in 
entering uj^on it, once begun, it was pursued with character- 
istic ardor. In 1844 he made an extensive canvass of the 
State as a candidate for the electorial college on the Democratic 



EIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. m 

ticket (which was elected), and his ability as a public speaker 
became generally known to the people of Mississippi. 

"In February, 1845, he contracted a second marriage with 
Miss Yarina Howell, a daughter of William B. Howell, Esq., 
of Natchez. 

" In the course of the same year he was elected to Congress 
(as a representative from the State "at large") and took his 
seat in the House soon after the opening of the first session of 
the Twenty-ninth Congress, in December, 1845. 

" This was the first session of Congress under Mr. Polk's 
administration, and several questions of serious importance 
presented themselves for consideration. Among these were 
that of the modification of the tariff of 1842, the 'Oregon ques- 
tion,' and that of the relations with Mexico, then involved in 
difficulty growing out of the annexation of Texas, and ulti- 
mately resulting in war. In all these Mr. Davis manifested a 
lively interest. He advocated a tariff based upon the necessi- 
ties of the government only, and favored ad valorem rather than 
specific duties. Both of these principles were recognized, if 
not fully and exclusively applied, as the'basis of the tarifif of 
1846, in the framing of which he bore a more influential part 
than usually falls to the share of so 3'Oung a member. 

"He took a conspicuous part also in the debates on the two 
questions of foreign policy above referred to. With regard to 
Oregon he differed from the administration and from the 
majority of his political associates, without, however, fully 
coinciding with the opposition. He advocated a continuance 
of the joint occupancy of the disputed territory and opposed 
the proposition to give notice fco Great Britain of a termina- 
tion of the treaty which authorized it. In the course of a 
speech on this question he gave eloquent expression to that 
stiong devotion to the principles of the original union and 
repugnance to everything savoring of sectional feeling, which 
eminently distinguished his whole political career. 



70 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

"Speaking for the South, he said : 'As we have shared in the 
toils, so we have gloried in the triumphs of our country. In 
our hearts, as in our history, are mingled the names of Con- 
cord, and Camden, and Saratoga, and Lexington, and Platts- 
burg, and Chippewa, and Erie, and Moultrie, and New Orleans, 
and Yorktown, and Bunker Hill. Grouped all together, they 
form a record of the triumphs of our cause, a monument of 
the common glory of our Union. What Southern man would 
wish it less by one of the Northern names of which it is com- 
posed? Or where is he who, gazing on the obelisk that rises 
from the ground made sacred by the blood of Warren, would 
feel his patriot's pride sujjpressed by local jealousy?'" 



VIII. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

The annexation of Texas, which Mr. Davis heartily favored, 
and the subsequent events leading up to the Mexican war had 
elicited the deepest interest of the young statesman. 

He had ably advocated the recognit".on of the young 
republic of Texas, and its reception as a State of the Union 
by an enactment of Congress, without regard to the wishes or 
claims of Mexico. He heartily favored an aggressive policy 
on the Rio Grande, and was in warm sympathy with " Old 
Rough and Ready " in the bold and successful policy which 
he pursued. 

On the 28th of May, 1846, he delivered the following speech 
in favor of a resolution of thanks to General Taylor and his 
army for the successes they had recently gained in operations 
on the Rio Grande ; 

" As a friend to the army, he rejoiced at the evidence, now 
afforded, of a disposition in this House to deal justly, and to feel 
generously toward those to whom the honor of our flag has 
been intrusted. Too often and too long had we listened to 
harsh and invidious reflections upon our gallant little army 
and the accomplished ofhcers who command it. A partial 
opportunity had been offered to exhibit their soldierly quali- 
ties in their true light, and he trusted these aspersions were 
hushed — hushed now forever. As an American, whose heart 
promptly responds to all which illustrates our national charac- 
ter, and adds new glory to our national name, he rejoiced 
with exceeding joy at the recent triumph of our arms. Yet 
mi 



72 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

it is no more than ho expected from the gallant soldiers who 
hold our post upon the Rio Grande — no more than, when 
occasion offers, they will achieve again. It was the triumph 
of American courage, professional skill, and that patriotic pride 
which blooms in the breast of our educated soldier, and which 
droops not under the withering scoff of political revilers. 

"These men will feel, deeply feel, the expression of your 
gratitude. It will nerve their hearts in the hour of future 
conflicts, to know that their country honors and acknowledges 
their devotion. It will shed a solace on the dying moments 
of those who fall, to be assured their country mourns their 
loss. This is the meed for which the soldier bleeds and dies- 
This he will remember long after the paltry pittance of one 
month's extra pay has been forgotten. 

" Beyond this expression of the nation's thanks, he liked the 
•principle of the proposition offered by the gentleman from 
South Carolina. We have a pension system providing for the 
disabled soldier, but he seeks well and wisely to extend it to 
all who may be wounded, however slightly. It is a reward 
offered to those who seek for danger, who first and foremost 
plunge into the fight. It has been this incentive, extended so 
as to cover all feats of gallantry, that has so often crowned the 
British arms with victory, and caused their prowess to be 
recognized in every quarter of the globe. It was the sure and 
high reward of gallantry, the confident reliance upon their 
nation's gratitude, which led Napoleon's armies over Europe,, 
conquering and to conquer; and it was these influences which, 
in an earlier time, rendered the Roman arms invincible, and 
brought their eagle back victorious from every land on which 
it gazed. Sir, let not that parsimony (for he did not deem it 
economy) prevent us from adopting a system which in war 
will add so much to the efficiency of troops. Instead of seek- 
ing to fill the ranks of your army by increased pay, let the 
soldier feel that a liberal pension will relieve him from the 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 78 

fear of want in the event of disability, provide for his family 
in the event of deatli, and that he wins his way to gratitude 
and the reward of his countrymen by periling all for honor in 
the field. 

" The achievement which we now propose to honor richly 
deserves it Seldom, sir, in the annals of military history has 
there been one in which desperate daring and military skill 
were more happily combined. The enemy selected his own 
ground, and united to the advantage of a strong position a 
numerical majority of three to one. Driven from his first 
position by an attack in which it is hard to say whether pro- 
fessional skill or manly courage is to be more admired, ho 
retired and posted his! artillery on a narrow defile, to sweep the 
ground over which our troops were compelled to pass. There, 
posted in strength three times greater than our own, they 
waited the approach of our gallant little army. 

"General Taylor knew the danger and destitution of the 
band he left to hold his camp opj)osite Matamoras, and he 
paused for no regular approaches, but opened his field artillery, 
and dashed with sword and bayonet on the foe, A single 
charge left him master of their battery, and the number of 
slain attests the skill and discipline ol his army. Mr. Davis 
referred to a gentleman who, a short time since, expressed 
extreme distrust in our army, and poured out the vials of his 
denunciation upon the graduates of the Military Academy. 
He hoped now the gentleman will withdraw these denuncia- 
tions ; that now he will learn the value of military science; 
that he will see, in the location, the construction, the defenses 
of the bastioned field-works opposite ]\Iatamoras, the utility, 
the necessity of a military education. Let him compare the 
few men who held that with the army who assailed it ; let him 
mark the comparative safety with which they stood within that 
temporary work ; let him consider why the guns along its 
ramparts were preserved, whilst they silenced the batteries of 



74 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the enemy ; why that intrenchment stands unharmed by 
Mexican shot, whilst its guns have crumbled the stone walls 
in Matamoras to the ground, and then say whether he believes 
a blacksmith or tailor could have secured the same results. 
He trusted the gentleman would be convinced that arms, like 
every occupation, requires to be studied before it can be under- 
stood ; and from these things to which he had called his 
attention, he will learn the power and advantage of military 
science. He would make but one other allusion to the remarks 
of the gentleman he had noticed, who said nine-tenths of the 
graduates of the Military Academy abandoned the service of 
the United States. If he would take the trouble to examine 
the recojrds upon this point, he doubted not he would be sur- 
prised at the extent of his mistake. There he would learn 
that a majority of all the graduates are still in service ; and if 
he would push his inquiry a little further, he would find that 
a large majority of the commissioned officers who bled in the 
action of the 8th and 9th were graduates of that academy. 

" He "V^ould not enter into a. discussion on the military at 
this time. His pride, his gratification arose from the success 
of our arms. Much was due to the courage which Americans 
have displayed on many battle-fields in former times ; but this 
courage, characteristic of our 2:)eoi3le, and pervading all sections 
and all classes, could never have availed so much had it not 
been combined with military science. And the occasion 
seemed suited to enforce this lesson on the minds of those who 
have been accustomed, in season and out of season, to rail 
at the scientific attainments of our officers. 

"The infiuence of military skill — ^the advantage of dis- 
cipline in the troops — the power derived from the science of 
war, increases with the increased size of the contending 
armies. With two thousand we had beaten six thousand ; 
with twenty thousand we would far more easily beat sixty 
thousand, because the general must be an educated soldier 



THE MEXICAN WAB. 7& 

who wields large bodies of men, and the troops, to act effi- 
ciently, must be disciplined and commanded by able officers. 
He but said what he had long thought and often said, when 
he expressed his confidence in the ability of our officers to 
meet those of any service — favorably to compare, in all that 
constitutes the soldier, with any army in the world ; and as 
the field widened for the exhibition, so would their merits 
sliine more brightly still. 

"With many of the officers now serving on the Rio'Grande 
he had enjoyed a personal acquaintance, and hesitated not to 
say that all which skill,, and courage, and patriotism could 
perform, might be expected from them. He had forborne to 
speak of the general commanding on the Rio Grande on any 
former occasion ; but he would now say to those who had 
expressed distrust, that the world held not a soldier better 
qualified for the service he was engaged in than General 
Taylor. Trained from his youth to arms, having spent the 
greater portion of his life on our frontier, his experience pecu- 
liarly fits him for the command he holds. Such as his con- 
duct was in Fort Harrison, on Ihe upper Mississippi, in Florida, 
and on the Kio Grande, will it be wherever he meets the enemy 
of his country. 

'' Those soldiers, to whom so many have applied deprecia- 
tory epithets, U|)on whom it has been so often said no reliance 
could be placed, they too will be found, in every emergency, 
renewing such feats as have recently graced our arms, bearing 
the American flag to honorable triumphs, or falling beneath 
its folds, as devotees to our common cause, to die a soldier's 
death. 

" He rejoiced that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Black) had shown himself so ready to pay this tribute to our 
army. He hoped not a voice would be raised in opposition to 
it — that nothing but the stern regret which is prompted by 
remembrance of those who bravely fought and nobly died will 



76 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

break the joy, the pride, the patriotio gratulation with which 
we hail this triumph of our brethren on the Kio Grande/' 

What followed we may best give from the sketch which we 
have already quoted so frequently : 

"As a member of Congress, he voted in accordance with the 
views of the administration. When the battles of the Rio 
Grande occurred, he supported the declaration that hostilities 
existed by the act of Mexico. Although in this vote he sus- 
tained the position taken by the President, j^et it required, per- 
haps, a higher exercise of independence than if he had taken 
the contrary part, for it was in opposition to the earnest remon- 
strances of Mr. Calhoun, the recognized head of the school of 
statesmanship of which !Mr. Davis was a zealous disciple, and 
probably the only man that he would ever have acknowledged 
as a political leader. He voted also for raising a volunteer 
army and for the appropriations requisite for a vigorous prosecu- 
tion of the war. He opposed, however, as unconstitutional, the 
authority conferred upon the President to appoint the general 
officers of the volunteer forces, holding that it had been reserved 
exclusively to the States. 

" The regiment called for from Mississippi was organized at 
Vicksburg, and elected its field officers with Jefferson Davis at 
their head as colonel. A messenger was sent to Washington 
to notify him. He was found in the House of Representatives, 
then having the tariff bill under consideration. The offer of 
the command of the regiment was promptly accepted. The 
President, on being informed of his acceptance and of his inten- 
tion to leave Washington as soon as the necessary arms and 
equipments could be procured, insisted on his remaining in 
Congress a few days until the tariff bill could be completed and 
passed, promising to instruct the Secretary of War in the mean- 
time to have all his requisitions filled, so that no time should 
be lost. 



THE MEXICAN WAR, 77 

"He made a requisition for one thousand percussion rifles 
of the model manufactured by Whitney, of New Haven. 
This was considered a startling innovation on usage. The 
rifle had not then been introduced into the army. Even 
the percussion lock was only partially in use, and General 
Scott is said to have preferred the flint lock, considering it as 
involving too much risk to rely upon so untried a weapon as 
the percussion lock musket for a campaign in an enemy's coun- 
try. Certain it is that he objected to the proposition of Colonel 
Davis to supply his regiment with the rifle indicated by his 
requisition, and, in yielding a partial consent to the experi- 
ment, coupled with it the condition that at least six of the 
ten companies should be armed with the old-fashioned musket 
already in use. Davis, however, who knew the familiarity of 
his men with the rifle and their distrust of the array musket, 
insisted upon the entire fulfillment of the President's promise, 
and eventually succeeded in obtaining it. Such was the origi- 
nal introduction into the service of the weapon afterward so 
celebrated as the ' Mississippi rifle.' 

"Resigning his seat in Congress, in June or July, 1846, Col- 
onel Davis hastened to join his regiment, which had already 
set out for the seat of war. He overtook it and assumed com- 
mand in New Orleans, from which place they were transported 
by sea to Point Isabel. Here they were subjected to a delay of 
several weeks, awaiting transportation up the Rio Grande. 
This opportunity was employed by the commander in drilling 
and training his men, very few of whom had received any 
military instruction. A serious difficulty presented itself at 
the very outset. No system of tactics then in existence had 
any provision for a manual of arms adapted to the rifle, with 
which the Mississippians were armed. In this exigency Colo- 
nel Davis set to work and prepared a manual of his own, in 
which he took personal charge of the instruction of his officers, 
requiring them to communicate it to the men of their com- 



78 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

mands. As he took these officers out for their daily drill, it 
became an habitual joke with the soldiers looking on to exclaim 
in tones just loud enough to be overheard- -There goes the 
Colonel, v/ith the awkward squad !' Yet, though good-natured 
pleasantries, such as this, were freely tolerated, the discipline 
exacted was rigorous, and the regiment became in that regard 
a model for the volunteer troops of General Taylor's army. 

"Transportation being at length furnished, Colonel Davis, 
with his regiment, ascended the Rio Grande and reported to 
General Taylor then encamped at Camargo. It was probably 
the first time they had met since their parting, in alienation if 
"not in anger, many years before on the northwestern frontier. 
Meanwhile time, and a common sorrow, had, no doubt, wrought 
their healing influences. Moreover, in debate on the floor of 
the House of Representatives, on the resolution of thanks to 
General Taylor and the officers and men of his command, after 
the battles of the Rio Grande, the eloquent Mississippian, in 
supporting it, had warmly eulogized both the army and its 
commander, declaring of the latter that 'the world had not a 
soldier better qualified for the service he was engaged in than 
General Taylor.' It may well be assumed, therefore, that there 
were no remains of former misunderstandings or estrangement 
to disturb the harmony attending the renewal of their old rela- 
tions as chief and subordinate in command. These relations 
were marked throughout the campaign by entire friendliness 
and cordiality. 

"Very soon after the arrival of the Mississippi regiment at 
Camargo the army set out on its march for the interior of Mex- 
ico. The strength of the column put in motion, as reported 
by the commanding general, was but little more than 6,000 
men — a force which, familiarized as we have since become with 
movements of troops on a much larger scale, seems singularly 
inadequate to the magnitude of the objects of the expedition. 
It consisted of two divisions of regular troops, commanded 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 79 

respectively by Brigadier-Generals Twiggs and Worth, and one 
of volunteers, commanded by Major-Gen eral Butler, To these 
were afterwards added (overtaking them on the march) two 
regiments of Texas volunteers, under the immediate command of 
the Governor of that State, J, Pinckney Henderson, serving witli 
the military rank of major-general; his command constituting, 
nominally, a fourth division, though in respect of strength 
equivalent only to a small brigade. Davis's regiment was one 
of the two of which Quitman's brigade, of Butler's division, 
was composed. 

"No serious resistance was encountered until Monterey, a 
strongly fortified city on the slope of the Sierra Madre, garri- 
soned by a force of regular and volunteer troops, variously esti- 
mated at from 9,000 to 15,000 men, under command of Gene- 
ral Ampudia. The attack on Monterey was opened early on 
•the morning of the 21st of September. It is not our purpose 
to describe it, or to enter into the details of any other opera- 
tions of the campaigns beyond such as directly concern the 
actions of the subject of this little memoir. Even as to these, 
we can mention only some of the most salient and striking 
incidents. 

" What was intended to be the main attack was made upon 
the fortified heights on the western side or rear of the town, as 
approached by the United States forces. The conduct of this 
attack was entrusted to General Worth. At the same time a 
diversion in favor of Worth's movement was to be made on 
the eastern or northeastern side by Butler's and Twiggs's divi- 
visions, under the immediate direction of General Taylor him- 
self. The two attacks were entirely detached and separate 
from each other — communication between them requiring a 
detour of at least six miles — and, although the movement in 
front seems to have been meant to be only subsidiary to that 
in the rear of the city, it is hard to determine which of them, 
in the end, was of the greater importance in contributing to 
the general result. 



II 



80 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"The defences iu front were found to be stronger than had 
been expected. The regular troops (First, Third and Fourth 
infantry) of Twiggs's command suffered severely in leading the 
attack upon them. 

" Quitman's brigade, consisting of Davis's Mississippians and 
Campbell's Tennesseeans, was ordered to the support of 
Twiggs. These regiments moved with impetuous courage 
upon the most advanced position of the Mexicans — a strong 
stone building, known as La Taneria (the Tannery), which had 
been converted into a fort, occupied by infantry, and covered 
by a redoubt with artillery. The redoubt was carried by 
assault, Lieutenant-Colonel ]\IcClung, of Davis's regiment, with 
Lieutenant Patterson, of the same command, being the first to 
mount the breastworks. The defenders of the redoubt hastily 
withdrew to the stone building in the rear, but were closely 
pursued by the Mississippians, led by Colonel Davis in person, 
who reached the gate just as they were closing it and forced it 
open. The ]\Iexicans at hand immediately surrendered, and 
the officer in command of the post delivered his sword to Col- 
onel Davis, who soon afterwards handed it to his friend. Col- 
onel Albert Sidney Johnston, then serving as Inspector-Gene- 
ral on the staff of General Butler. 

"Meantime, the greater part of the garrison of La Taneria, 
were endeavoring to escape to the other fortified positions 
accessible to them. They were pursued by Davis, who was 
about to lead his regiment to the attack of a fort known as El 
Diablo, some 300 yards from the works already captured, when 
he was ordered back by General Quitman and directed to 
rejoin the main body of the division. This order was very dis- 
tasteful to him; even in after years, on the rare occasions when 
he could be induced to speak freely of these events, he would 
manifest some traces of still lingering dissatisfaction in men- 
tioning it. For some time tho troops were left in a state of 
inaction, protected by a long wall in their front, but exposed 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 81 

to the fire of artillery from the Mexican salients on their left 
flank. Chafing with impatience at the delay and useless 
exposure of his men, Colonel Davis addressed himself to Col- 
onel A. S. Johnston, of the division staff — whose chief, Gene- 
ral Butler, had heen wounded and was about this time obliged 
to retire from the field — and suggested the query that, if not 
permitted to attack the salient on the left, why not move upon 
the right? Johnston's answer (as given in a letter from 
ex-President Davis to Colonel W. P. Johnston, from which 
this incident is taken), was: 'We can get no orders, but if you 
will move your regiment to the right place, the rest may fol- 
low you.' Colonel Davis appears to have waited for no fur- 
ther orders, but moved off immediately toward a fclc-dc-pont 
covering the aj:)proach to a bridge on the right. 

" Meeting here Major Mansfield, Chief Engineer,and Captain 
Field, of the Third infantry, with his company, both of 
whom 23romptly consented to co-operate with him, j^repara- 
tions were made for an immediate attack upon the tete-de-pont. 
Before this could be executed, however, he was ordered by 
General Hamer — who, as senior brigadier, had succeeded 
General Butler in command of the division — to desist and 
withdraw from his position. liis own remonstrances and 
those of Major Mansfield were unavailing, and for the second 
time that day he found his enterprises thwarted by the orders 
of his military superiors. It was, no doubt, some compensa- 
sation for his disappointment that, in retiring from the field, 
he had opportunity for the execution, on his own responsi- 
bility, of a brief but brilliant movement of a very unusual 
sort. This was the attack and rout of a body of lancers who 
were inflicting much annoyance upon the main body of the 
division. Resistance by foot soldiers to charges of cavalry is 
no uncommon thing in war, but the novelty of this aggressive 
and successful attack upon light cavalry by riflemen on foot 



82. THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

did not escape the special notice of Colonel Johnston and other 
old soldiers who "witnessed it. 

"Nothing important occurred the next day (22nd September) 
in front of the city, though in the rear the capture of the 
defences on the Saltillo road, begun by "Worth the day before, 
Avas completed by the storming of the "Bishop's Palace" and 
works adjacent. The position captured on the 21st (Fort 
Taneria and its outworks) was still held, and on the 22nd was 
occupied by Quitman's brigade, but the operations of the day 
in that quarter consisted mainly of an exchange of artil- 
lery firing. 

" Early in the morning of the 23d it was ascertained that the 
Mexicans had evacuated most of his works in the lower part 
of the city and withdrawn toward the citadel and grand 
plaza. Colonel Davis was ordered to take possession of ' El 
Diablo ' and the works around it. A little later General Quit- 
man was authorized by the commanding general, at his own 
discretion, to advance into the interior of the city. Davis, 
with part of his own command, and part of the Tennessee 
regiment, took the lead in this movement, which was one alto- 
gether congenial to the adventurous, though cool, discreet and 
wary daring of his disposition. The performance of the duty 
was beset with difficulties. Barricades had been built across 
the streets. Posted behind these barricades at the windows 
and on the battlemented roofs of houses, and availing them- 
selves of other ' coigns of vantage,' the Mexicans were enabled 
with little exposure of themselves, to pick off tr. ■ assailants as 
they advanced, while their artillery swept the streets. While 
Colonel Davis and his men were slowly contending against 
these obstacles. Lieutenant (soon afterward captain) Scarritt, a 
brilliant young engineer of General Taylor's staff, came up 
and proposed that instead of followmg the streets they should 
bore their way through the houses, offering himself to obtain 
the necessary tools and to render his personal assistance in the 



THE MEXICAN WAE. 83 

execution of tlio plan. Colonel Davis recognized at once the 
expediency of the suggestion, and promptly agreed to it. In 
after years he spoke with much admiration of the skill and 
ability of Scarritt and the value of the services rendered by 
him on that occasion. 

" They were soon afterward joined by a detachment of dis- 
mounted Texan volunteers, led by General Henderson in per- 
son, who, although superior in rank, was content to co-operate 
with Davis in his movements. The greater part of the day 
was occupied in slowly making their way, in the manner 
above indicated, from house to house and from square to 
square, dislodging the defenders from their positions as t'hey 
advanced. At one place Colonel Davis was completely buried 
by the explosion of a shell in a mass of earth and rubbish, 
and was reported killed by a frightened soldier who was with 
him, though really unhurt. At another, when it became 
necessary to cross a street commanded by one of the Mexican 
batteries, ho took the lead and crossed alone, after instructing 
his men to follow, two or three at a time, until the fire of the 
enemy was drawn, on which they were immediately to rush 
across en masse. By this means the crossing was effected with- 
out loss. 

" As evening drew on, they had made their way to a point 
within less than two squares of the main plnza. Their posi- 
tion was now so advanced that it had become unsafe to con- 
tinue the fire o^ Bragg's and Ridgeley's batteries, which had 
been co-oper'^ilng with them from the rear. They were, 
therefore, ordered 'gradually and slowly to retire to the 
defences taken in the morning.' This order was reluctantly 
obeyed, both by Davis and Henderson. 

" Early in the morning of the 24th, a communication was 
sent by flag of truce from General Ampudia to General Tay- 
lor, proposing to surrender the city on certain c6nditions. A 
cessation of fire until noon was ordered. The commanding 



84 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME 

generals had a personal interview, which resulted in the 
appointment of commissioners by each party to draw Up arti- 
cles of caj)itulation. The commissioners appointed by General 
Taylor, on the part of tlie United States, were Generals Worth 
and Henderson and Colonel Jefferson Davis. On the part of 
the Mexicans were two general officers of the army and the 
governor of the State of New Leon, of which Monterey is the 
capital, 

" The terms agreed upon by the commissioners provided for 
the surrender, on the next day, ot the city and its defences, 
with all the artillery, munitions of war, and other public prop- 
erty, except the arms and accoutrements of the infantry and 
cavalry and one field battery. The Mexican troops were to 
retire beyond a certain specified line, which was not thereafter 
to be passed by armed forces from either side for eight weeks, 
or until otherwise ordered by one or both of the two govern- 
ments concerned. 

"Connected with the ratification of these terms by the 
respective commanding generals, was a personal adventure of 
Colonels Davis and A. S, Johnston, which has been graphically 
described in a letter from the former to Colonel W. P. Johns- 
ton, son of the latter. Although this letter has already been 
published in the life of General Johnston, by his son, yet its 
intrinsic interest and the subsequent celebrity of the two 
parties chiefly concerned, furnish sufficient reason for the 
reproduction here of the greater part of it, Mr. Davis writes ; 

'''When the commissioners had completed their labors, and 
written out the terms of capitulation in English and Spanish, 
each to be signed by both of the commanding generals, there 
was a manifest purpose on the part of General Ampudia to 
delay and to chaffer, I left him, after an unpleasant interview, 
with a promise on his part to give me General Taylor's draft 
with his (Ampudia's) signature as early In tlie morning as I 
would call for it. At dawn of day I mounted my horse and 







A/ 



x-C^^^^'^ 



DAVIS AND JOHNSTON NEGOTIATING WITH AMPUDIA- 



86 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

started for the town, about three miles distant. General 
Taylor, always an early riser, heard the horse's feet as I passed 
by the tent and called to me, asking where I was going, then 
inviting me to take a cup of coffee with him. The question 
was answered and the invitation declined, having already had 
coffee. Your father seeing me on horseback, came from his 
tent to learn the cause of it, and proposed to go with me. 
General Taylor promptly said that he wished he would do so ; 
and as soon as his horse could be saddled he joined me, and 
we rode on for General Ampudia's headquarters at the grand 
plaza of Monterey. 

" 'As we approached the entrance to the plaza the flat roofs 
of the houses were seen to be occupied by infantry in line and 
under arms. The barricade across the street, behind which 
was artillery, showed the gunners in place, and the port-fires 
blazing. It may well be asked, Why should they fire on us? 
The only answer is, the indications are strong that they 
intended to do so. We were riding at a walk and continued 
to advance at the same gait. Your father suggested that we 
should raise our white hankerchiefs ; and thus we rode up to 
the batter3\ Addressing the captain, I told him that I was there 
by appointment to meet General Aihpudia, and wished to 
pass. lie sent a soldier to the rear with orders which we 
could not hear. After waiting a due time, the wish to pass 
was stated as before. Again the captain sent off a soldier ; and 
a third lime was this repeated, none of the soldiers returning. 
In this state of affairs we saw the Adjutant-General of 
Ampudia coming on horseback. We knew that he spoke 
English, and that as the chief of the commander's staff, he was 
aware of my appointment and could relieve us of our detention. 
There was a narrow space between the end of the breastwork 
and the wall of the house, barely sufficient for one horse to 
pass at a time. Wc were quite near to this passage, and as 
the Adjutant-General advanced, evidently with the intention 



THE MEXICAN 17^22. 87 

tc ride through, I addressed him, stating my case, and remon- 
strated on the discourtesy with which wo had been treated. 
lie turned to the captain and speaking in Spanish, and with 
such rapid utterance that wo could not comprehend the 
meaning, he put his horse in motion to go through. Quick 
and daring in action as slow and mild in speech, your father 
said, Had we not better keep him with us? Wc squared 
our horses so as to prevent his passing, and told him it would 
much oblige us if ho would accompany us to the quarters of 
General Ampudia. lie appreciated both his necessity and our 
own ; and feigning great pleasure in attending us, ho turned 
back and conducted us to his chief. 

'* ' Whether the danger of being fired on was as great as it 
seemed, cannot be determined ; but the advantage of having the 
well-known chief of staff exposed to any fire which should be 
aimed at us, will be readily perceived. On this as on many 
other occasions during our long acquaintance, your father 
exhibited that quick perception and decision which characterize 
the military genius. The occasion may seem small to others ; 
it v;as great to us. Together wo had seen the sun rise; and 
the chances seemed to both, many to one, that neither of us 
would ever see it set. Ampudia received us with the extrava- 
gant demonstrations of his nation, ordered our horses to bo 
taken care of, and invited us to breakfast with him. 
Declining the invitation, he was reminded of the object of our 
visit, and the desire to avoid further delay in exchange of the 
articles of capitulation. He 2:)romptly delivered the duplicate 
left with him, vdiich he had signed, and we took formal leave 
of him.' ' 

" There can scarcely be a doubt, under the light thrown upon 
the subject by subsequent discussion, that the terms of capitu- 
lation accorded were as judicious as they were liberal, but 
they were severely criticised in some quarters as too favorablo 
to the Mexicans. It was disapproved by the government at 



88 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

home, "but before the necessary correspondence could be 
exchanged between General Taylor and the War Department, 
and notice given the Mexican commander, only six days 
remained of the eight weeks originally allowed for the dura- 
tion of the armistice. There were some animated discussion 
of the subject afterwards both in Congress and in the news- 
papers, and the action of General Taylor and the commission- 
ers was warmly defended by Colonel Davis. 

" Saltillo, the capital of the State of Coahuila, was occupied 
by the United States forces immediately after the conclusion 
of the armistice, and Victoria, tlie capital of Tamaulipas, some 
weeks later. General Taylor was now in almost full possession 
of the States of Tamaulipas, New Leon and Coahuila. The 
greater part of the winter passed, however, without any very 
important or memorable operations, and in the course of it 
Taylor's force was much reduced by the withdrawal of a laige 
portion of it, including nearly all the regular troops, to par- 
ticipate in the campaign of General Scott, about to be opened 
from Vera Cruz as a base against the City of Mexico. Mean- 
time Santa Anna, who had succeeded to the chief command of 
the Mexican army and soon after to the Presidency of the 
Republic, had assembled a large force at San Luis Potosi, and 
in the latter part of February, 1847, moved forward to meet 
the invading troops of Taylor. 

" General Taylor's headquarters were at Saltillo, though his 
advance had been pushed forward as far as Aqua Nueva, some 
eighteen miles beyond. On information of the advance of 
the Mexicans, he selected a strong defensive position, about 
seven miles south of Saltillo, near an estate, or hacienda, 
known as Buena Vista. Here he posted his little army of 
about 5,000 men, to await the approach of the enemy. The 
road at Buena Vista entered a deep and narrow valley, pro- 
tected on the right, or western side, by a network of deep gul- 
lies, impassible by cavalry or artillery, while on the left a ' sue- 



THE MEXICAN WAR, 59 

cession of rugged ridges and precipitous ravines' extended 
back toward the mountain bounding the valley. 

" The Mexicans made their appearance on the morning of 
the 22nd of February, 20,000 strong, as asserted by Santa 
Anna in his note of that date to Taylor, demanding an uncon- 
ditional surrender. It is quite likely, however, that he exag- 
gerated their numbers. The official returns of his forces, a 
few days before the battle (according to the statement of 
General Scott), exhibit an aggregate of about 14,000. On the 
other hand, General Wool estimates their number at 22,000. 
In any case the odds were fearful enough, though, as General 
Taylor says in his official report, ' the features of the ground 
were such as to nearly paralyze the artillery and cavalry of 
the enemy, while his infantry could not derive all the advan- 
tage of its numerical superiority.' 

" The laconic answer of Taylor to Santa Anna's communica- 
tion, granting him an hour to make up his mind to surrender, 
is well known.* 

"An attack was soon after made by the IMexicans, and some 
heavy skirmishing occurred in the course of th« evening, but 
the battle was not fairly opened until the next morning. 
General Taylor himself returned for the night to Saltillo, 
which was threatened by a large body of cavalry, taking with 
him the Mississippi regiment and a squadron of dragoons. 

"The battle had already begun, next morning (23rd), when 
the Mississippians arrived on the field, with some advantage 
to the Mexicans. Colonel Davis in his report says : 'As we 
approached the scene of action, horsemen, recognized as of our 
troops, were seen running, dispersed and confusedly, from the 

*nEADQUARTErS AHMY OF OCCUPATION, ) 

Kear Buena Vi&ta, Feb. 22, 1S47. f 
Sir,— In reply to your note of this date, summoning me to surrender ray forces at discre- 
tion, I beg leave to say that I decline acceding to your request. 
With high respect, 1 am, sir, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, 

Major-Gcncral U. S. A., commanding. 
Senor General T>. Anto Lopez do Santa Anna, Commander-in-Chief, Encanteda. 



90 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

field; and our first view of the lino of battle presented tlie 
mortifying spectacle of a regiment of infantry flying disorgan- 
ized from before the enemy.' He adds, however, that, instead 
of dispiriting, the sight served only to nerve the resolution of 
the men of his command. 

"They soon became warmly engaged with a force vastly 
superior to their own. Ascending under fire, and firing, the 
slope of the ridge from the upper part of which tlic enemy were 
operating, it became necessary to cross a deep ravine that united 
obliquely with one still larger on the right, which ran nearly 
parallel with the line of their movement. Into this lesser 
ravine Colonel Davis descended alone, to find a favorable place 
for the passage of his men. While riding along the bottom he 
was fired upon by a squadron of Mexican cavalry from the 
bank above, but they fired over his head and both ho and his 
horse escaped unhurt. The regiment crossed under a galling 
fire and drove the enemy back upon their reserves. Being 
unsupported, however, and observinga movement of thcMexican 
cavalry beyond the large ravine on the right, as if to cross it 
and attack his rear. Colonel Davis retired his regiment just in 
time to prevent this movement and disperse the assailants 
with the loss of their leader. 

"He was now joined by the Third Indiana regiment of the 
same brigade, and by a piece of artillery under Lieutenant Kil- 
burn, and again moved forward to the ground previously occu- 
pied under a heavy fire of artillery. A large body of cavalry 
was seen to issue from their cover, as if for the purpose of making 
an attack, and preparations were at once made to receive it. 

"Just here occurred what has become so celebrated as the 
famous *V' formation of his troops by Colonel Davis. Tho 
story, as generally told, is that, seeing the impending charge, 
he drew up his men in the form of the letter specified, so as to 
receive the enemy between its two converging lines under a 
flanking fire from both. LIuch graphic but illusory narration 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 91 

and injudicious eulogy Lave been expended upon the subject 
by writer? and speakers but little versed in tactics, theoretical 
or practical. The truth is that, under ordinary circumstances, 
such a formation would have been an exceedingly weak one, 
directly contrar}- to the plainest principles ci defense against 
cavalry. No cavalry commander of ordinary intelligence could 
be expected to lead his men into the gaping jaws of a bifurcate 
snare so manifestly fraught with deadly peril, W'hen it would 
be so much easier and safer to turn its corners and attack his 
enemy in the rear. No such formation as that of the 'A^' is 
mentioned by General Taylor in his report of the battle — unless 
an obscure and incidental allusion to that part of the line as 
forming *a crochet perpendicular to the first line of baitle' can 
be understood as indicating it. It is not mentioned by Gene- 
ral Wool, the second in command in the field, or by General 
Lane, who commanded the brigade to which the Mississippi 
and Indiana regiments both belonged. The explanation may 
be found in a single sentence of Colonel Davis's own report, in 
which he says: 'The Mississippi regiment was filed to the 
right (they were retiring by the left flank), and fronted in line 
across the plain ; the Indiana regiment was formed on the bank 
of theravinoby which a re-entering angle was presented to the 
enemy.' From this statement it is not at all presumable that the 
re-entrant angle was one of such acutencss as to entitle it to be 
likened in form to the letter *V'. Moreover, the dispositions 
made were evidently suggested by the conformation of the 
ground occupied, and the genius of the commander shown by 
^the promptness and sagacity with which he took advantage of 
it. The Indiana regiment, constituting the right of his line 
was drawn up along the brink of the main ravine, by which 
its rear was completely covered. Plis own regiment extended 
'across the plain,' presumably to the other ravine, leaving the 
enemy no possible means of approach, except in front and 
under the fire of both wings. These dispositions were brilliant 



92 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

in conception and execution, but not in the way in which they 
are generally represented. The merit consisted in the ready 
intuition and consummate skill with which the strongest 
possible formation was made of what in most cases would have 
been one of the very weakest. 

" Colonel Davis soon afterwards received orders to move his 
regiment to a j)oint some distance to the right for the protec- 
tion of Bragg's battery, which was hotly engaged and entirely 
unsupported. Reaching the brow of the slope that led to the 
plateau on which the battery was stationed, they found the 
Mexican infantry advancing upon it, within about 100 yards. 
A destructive fire upon their right flank checked their progress 
and saved the battery from impending and otherwise inevitable 
capture or destruction. 

'"This was the last conflict of the day in'which they were 
engaged. Colonel Davis had been severely wounded on first 
going into action -by a musket ball through the foot, near the 
ankle joint. Although keeping] the field, he had suffered 
severely, and at the close of battle retired to a tent for surgical 
treatment. 

" [It is an interesting reminiscense that he was nursed and 
waited on during the ensuing night by Mr. T. L. Crittenden, 
then serving as a volunteer aid on the staff of General Taylor, 
without military rank, who served with distinction in the 
Federal army during the late war, and has since attained the 
rank of brigadier-general by brevet. To him Colonel Davis 
attributed his escape from lockjaw, which was threatened, and 
probably the saving of his life, by continually pouring cold 
water upon the wounded limb.] 

"The general appreciation in the army of the brilliant 
services rendered at Buena Vista by Davis and his Missis- 
sippians was shown by the praises lavished upon them in the 
oflicial reports of his superiors and the officers directly 
associated with him during the battle. These notes of admi- 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 93 

ration and approval were caught up and re-echoed by press and 
people at home. Few soldiers have ever received from their 
countrymen a more generous recognition of distinguished 
services than that awarded them." 

The following description of the j^art borne by " Davis and his 
Mississippi Rifles" in the battle of Buena Vista, is from the 
pen of Honorable J. F. H. Claiborne, who has written much to 
illustrate the history of Mississippi and her sons: 

" The battle had been raging sometime with fluctuating 
fortunes, and was setting against us, when General Taylor, 
with Colonel Davis and otliers, arrived on the field. Several 
regiments (which were subsequently rallied and fought bravely) 
were in full retreat. O'Brien, after having his men and horses 
completely cut up, had been compelled to draw off his guns, 
and Bragg, with almost superhuman energy, was sustaining 
the brunt of the fight. Many officers of distinction had fallen. 
Colonel Davis rode forwnrd to examine the position of the 
enemy, and concluding that the best way to arrest our fugitives 
would be to make a bold demonstration, he resolved at once 
to attack the enemy, there posted in force, immediately in 
front, supported by cavalry, and two divisions in reserve in 
his rear. It was a resolution bold almost to rashness, but the 
emergency was pressing. With a handful of Indiana volun- 
teers, who still stood by their brave old colonel (Bowles) and 
his own regiment, he advanced at double-quick time, firing as 
he advanced. His own brave fellows fell fast under the roll- 
ing musketry of the enemy, but their rapid and fatal volleys 
carried dismay and death into the adverse ranks. A deep 
ravine separated the combatants. Leaping into it, the Missis- 
sippians soon appeared on the other side, and with a shout that 
was heard over the battle-field, they poured in a well-directed 
fire, and rushed upon the enemy. Their deadly aim and wild 
enthusiasm was irresistible. The Mexicans fled in confusion 
to their reserves, -and Davis seized the commanding position 



94 THE DAVIS MEMOniAL VOLVME. 

they had occupied. He next fell upon the party of cavalry and 
compelled it to fl}', with the loss of their leader and other 
officers. Immediately afterwards a brigade of lancers, one 
thousand strong, were seen approaching at a gallop, in beauti- 
ful array, with sounding bugles and fluttering pennons. It was 
an appalling spectacle, but not a man flinched from his posi- 
tion. The time between our devoted band and eternity seemed 
brief indeed. But conscious that the eye of the army was 
upon them, that the honor of Mississippi was at stake, and 
knowing that, if they gave way, or were ridden down, our un- 
protected batteries in the rear, upon which the fortunes of the 
day depended, would bo captured, each man resolved to die in 
his place sooner than retreat. Not the Spartan martyrs at 
Thermopykc — not the sacred battalion of Epaminondas — not 
the Tenth Legion of Julius Cccsar — not the Old Guard of 
Napoleon — ever evinced more fortitude than these young volun- 
teers in a crisis when death seemed inevitable. They stood 
like statues, as frigid and motionless as the marble itself. 
Impressed with this extraordinary firmness, when they had 
anticipated panic and flight, the lancers advanced more delib- 
erately, as though they saw, for the first time, the dark shadow 
of the fate that was impending over them. Colonel Davis had 
thrown his men into the form of re-entering angle, (familiarly 
known as his famous V movement,) both flanks resting on 
ravines, the lancers coming down on the intervening ridge. 
This exposed them to a converging fire, and the moment they 
came within rifle range each man singled out his object, and 
the whole head of the column fell. A more deadly fire never 
was delivered, and the brilliant array recoiled and retreated, 
paralyzed and dismayed. 

" Shortly afterwards the Mexicans, having concentrated a 
large force on the right for their final attack, Colonel Davis 
was ordered in that direction. His regiment had been in 
action all day, exhausted by thirst and fatigue, much reduced 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 85 

by the carnage of the morning engagement, and many in the 
ranks suffering from wounds, yet the noble fellows moved at 
double-quick time. Bov/lea's little band of Indiana volun- 
teers still acted with them. After marching several hundred 
yards they perceived the Mexican infantry advancing, in three 
lines, upon Bragg's battery, which though entirely unsup- 
ported, held its position with a resolution worthy of his fame. 
The pressure upon him stimulated the Mississippians. They 
increased their speed and when the enemy was within ono 
hundred yards of the battery and confident of its capture, they 
took him in flank and reverse, and poured in a raking and 
destructive fire. This broke his right line, and the rest soon 
gave way and fell back precipitately. Colonel Davis was 
severely wounded." 

General Taylor in his official report of the battle, says : " The 
Mississippi riflemen, under Colonel Davis, were highly con- 
spicuous for their gallantry and steadiness, and sustained 
throughout the engagement, the reputation of veteran troops. 
Brought into action against an immensely superior force, they 
maintained themselves for a long time, unsupported and with 
heavy loss, and held an important) part of the field until 
re-enforced. Colonel Davis, though severe/y wounded, remain- 
ed in the saddle until the close of the action. His distinguished 
coolness and gallantry, at the head of his regiment on this 
day, entitle him to the particular notice of the government." 

Several sentences from Colonel Davis's report have been given 
above, but we quote it more fully : 

*' Saltillo, Mexico, 2d March, 1847. 

" Sir : In compliance with your note of yesterday, I have 
the honor to present the following report of the service of the 
Mississippi riflemen on the 23d ultimo : 

"Early in the morning of that day the regiment was drawn 
out from the headquarters encampment, which stood in advance 
of and overlooked the town of iSaltillo. Conformably to in- 



96 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL V0LU3£E. 

structions, two companies were detached for the protection of 
that encampment, and to defend the adjacent entrance of tlie 
town. The remaining eight comj^anies were put in marcli to 
return to the position of the preceding day, now known as the 
battle-field of Buena Vista. We had approached to within 
about two miles of that position, when tlie report of artillery- 
firing, which reached us, gave assurance that a battle had 
commenced. Excited by the sound the regiment pressed 
rapidly forward, manifesting, upon this, as upon other occasions, 
their more than willingness to meet the enemy. At the first 
convenient place the column was halted for the purpose of filling 
their canteens with water; and the march being resumed, was 
directed toward the position w4iich had been indicated to me, 
on the previous evening, as the post of our regiment. As we 
approached the scene of action, horsemen, recognized as of our 
troops, were seen running, dispersed and confusedly from the 
field ; and our first view of the line of battle presented the 
mortifying spectacle of a regiment of infantry flying disor- 
ganized from before the enemy. These sights, so well calcu- 
lated to destroy confidence and dispirit troops just coming into 
action, it is my pride and pleasure to believe, only nerved the 
resolution of the regiment I have the honor to command. 

"Our order of march was in column of companies, advancing 
by the centers. The point which has just been abandoned 
by the regiment alluded to, w^as now taken as our direction. I 
rode forward to examine the ground upon which we were 
going to operate, and in passing through the fugitives, appealed 
to them to return with us and renew the fight, pointing to our 
regiment as a mass of men behind which they might securely 
form. 

"With a few honorable exceptions, the appeal was as un- 
heeded as were the offers which, I am informed, were made by 
our men to give their canteens of water to those who com- 
plained of thirst, on condition that they would go back. Gen- 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 97 

eral Wool was upon the ground making great efforts to rally 
the men who had given way. I approached him and asked if 
he would send another regiment to sustain me in an attack 
upon the enemy before us. He was alone, and, after promising 
the support, went in person to send it. Upon further exami- 
nation, I found that the slope we were ascending was intersected 
by a deep ravine, which, uniting obliquely with a still larger 
one on our right, formed between them a point of land diffi- 
cult of access by us, but which, spreading in a plain toward 
the base of the mountain, had easy communication with the 
main body of the enemy. This position, important from its 
natural strength, derived a far greater value from the relation 
it bore to our order of battle and line of communication with 
the rear. The enemy, in number many time greater than our- 
selves, supported by strong reserves, flanked by cavalry and 
elated by recent success, was advancing upon it. The moment 
seemed to me critical and the occasion to require whatever sac- 
rifice it might cost to check the enemy. 

"My regiment, having continued to advance, was near at 
hand. I met and formed it rapidly into order of battle; the 
line then advanced in double-quick time, until within the 
estimated range of our rifles, when it was halted, and ordered 
to 'fire advancing.' 

" The progress of the enemy was arrested. AVe crossed the 
difficult chasm before us, under a galling fire, and in good 
order renewed the attack upon the other side. The contest 
was severe — the destruction great upon both sides. We steadily 
advanced, and, as the distance diminished, the ratio of loss 
increased rapidly against the enemy; he yielded, and was 
driven back on his reserves. A plain now lay behind us — 
the enemy's cavalry had passed around our right flank, which 
rested on the main ravine, and gone to our rear. The sup- 
port I had expected to join us was nowhere to be seen. I 
therefore ordered the regiment to retire, and went in person to 
7 



98 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

find the cavalry, which, after passing round our right, had 
been concealed by the inequality of the ground. I found them 
at the first point where the b.ank was practicable for horsemen, 
in the act of descending into the ravine — no doubt for the 
purpose of charging upon our rear. The nearest of our men 
ran quickly to my call, attacked this body, and dispersed it 
with some loss. I think their commander was among the 
killed. 

" The regiment was formed again in line of battle behind 
the first ravine we had crossed; soon after which we were 
joined upon our left by Lieutenant Kilbourn, with a piece of 
light artillery, and Colonel Lane's (the Third) regiment of 
Indiana volunteers. . . , We had proceeded but a short 
distance when I saw a large body of cavalry debouche from 
his cover upon the left of the position from; which he had 
retired, and advance rapidly upon us. The Mississippi regi- 
ment was filed to the right, and fronted in line across the 
plain; the Indiana regiment was formed on the bank of the 
ravine, in advance of our right flank, by which a re-entering 
angle was j^resented to the enemy. "Whilst this preparation 
was being made, Sergeant-Major Miller, of our regiment, was 
sent to Captain Sherman for one or more pieces of artillery 
from his battery. 

"The enemy, who was now seen to be a body of richly-capa- 
risoned lancers, came forward rapidly, and in beautiful order — 
the files and ranks so closed as to look like a mass of men and 
horses. Perfect silence and the greatest steadiness 2Jrevailed 
in both lines of our troops, as they stood at shouldered arms 
waiting an attack. Confident of success, and anxious to obtain 
the full advantage of a cross-fire at a short distance, I repeat- 
edly called to the men not to shoot. 

" As the enemy approached, his speed regularly diminished, 
until, when, within eighty or a hundred yards, he had drawn 
up to a walk, and seemed about to halt. A few files fired with- 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 99 

out orders, and both lines then instantly poured in a volley 
so destructive that the mass yielded to the blow and the 

survivors fled At this time, the enemy made his 

last attack upon the right, and I received the General's order 
to march to that portion of the field. The broken character 
of the intervening ground concealed the scene of action from 
our view; but the heavy firing of musketry formed a sufficient 
guide for our course. After marching two or three hundred 
3'ards, we saw the enemy's infantry advancing in three lines 
upon Captain Bragg's battery; which, though entirely unsup- 
ported, resolutely held its position, and met the attack with a 
fire worthy the former achievements of that battery, and of 
the reputation of its present meritorious commander. We 
pressed on, climbed the rocky slope of the jDlain on which this 
combat occurred, reached its brow so as to take the enemy in 
flank and reverse when he was about one hundred yards from 
the battery. Our first fire — raking each of his lines, and 
opened close upon his flank — ^was eminently destructive. His 
right gave way, and he fled in confusion. 

"In this, the last contest of the day, my regiment equaled — 
it was impossible to exceed — my expectations. Though worn 
down by many hours of fatigue and thirst, the ranks thinned 
by our heavy loss in the morning, they yet advanced upon the 
enemy with tlie alacrit}^ and eagerness of men fresh to the 
combat. In every approbatory sense of these remarks I wish 
to be included a party of Colonel Bowles's Indiana regiment, 
which served with us during the greater part of tlie day, under 
the immediate command of an officer from that reiriment, 
whose gallantry attracted my particular attention, but whose 
name, I regret, is unknown to me. When hostile demonstra- 
tions had ceased, I retired to a tent upon the field for surgical 
aid, having been wounded by a musket ball when we first 
went into action. Every part of the action having been fought 
under the eye of the Commanding General, the importance and 



lOD THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

manner of any service it was our fortune to render will be best 
estimated by him. But in view of my own responsibility, it 
may be permitted me to say, in relation to our first attack 
upon the enemy, that I considered the necessity absolute and 
immediate. No one could have failed to perceive the hazard. 
The enemy, in greatly disproportionate numbers, was rapidly 
advancing. We saw no friendly troops coming to our support, 
and probably none except myself expected re-enforcement. 
Under such circumstances, the men cheerfully, ardently entered 
into the conflict; and though we lost, in that single engage- 
ment, more than thirty killed and forty wounded, the regiment 
never faltered nor moved, except. as it was ordered. Had the 
expected re-enforcement arrived we could have prevented the 
enemy's cavalry from passing to out rear, results more decisive 
might have been obtained, and a part of our loss have been 
avoided. 

" I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant, Jefpekson Davis, 

" Colonel Mississippi Rifles. 

•■'Major W. W. S. Bliss, Assistant Adjutant- General." 

"VVe have quoted the above report, and shall quote other doc- 
uments and statements, from the "Life of Jefferson Davis," by 
Frank H. Alfriend, a book which was published in 18G8, under 
many difficulties in its preparation, but which has many strong 
points of interest and value, and deserves a;place in our libra- 
ries. 

Hon. Caleb Cushing, in an address on "The Expatriated 
Irish," delivered in Boston, February 11th, 1858, thus -speaks 
of Davis at Buena Vista : 

"In another of the dramatic incidents of that field, a man 
of Celtic race (Jefferson Davis) at the head of the Rifles of 
Mississippi, had ventured to do that of which there is, perhaps, 
but one other example in the military history of modern times. 







"STEADY, MISSliSsIPPIANS!' 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 101 

In the desperate conflicts of the Crimea, at the battle of Inker- 
mann, in one of those desperate charges, there was a British 
officer who ventured to receive the charge of the enemy with- 
out the precaution of having his men formed in a hollow 
square. They were drawn up in two lines, meeting at a point 
like an open fan, and received the charge of the Russians at 
the muzzle of their guns, and repelled it. Sir Colin Campbell, 
for this feat of arms, among others, was selected as the man to 
retrieve the fallen fortunes of England in India. He did, 
however, but imitate what Jefferson Davis had previously done 
in Mexico, who, in that trying hour, when, with one last des- 
perate effort to break the line of the American army, the cav- 
.alry of Mexico was concentrated in one charge against the 
American line; then, I say, Jefferson Davis commanded his 
men to form in two lines, extended as I have shown, and receive 
that charge of the Mexican horse, with a plunging fire from 
the right and left from tne ^Mississippi Rifles, which repelled, 
and repelled for the last time, the charge of the hosts of Mex- 
ico." 

I have recently heard United States Senator A. II. Colquitt, 
of Georgia, give a very vivid description of what he witnessed 
of the conduct of Colonel Davis and his gallant Mississippians 
at Buena Yista. He says that as Davis advanced, his men 
were subjected to that most demoralizing experience of having 
another regiment, in full retreat, rush through them ; but that 
Colonel Davis, who had been very severely wounded, but 
refused to leave the field, called out repeatedly, in his clear 
voice, which rang out above the din of the conflict : " Steady, 
Mississippians! Steady, Mississippians ! Let those peojile who 
are running to the rear pass through, but hold your ground." 
And when the retreating men had passed through the ranks 
of his regiment. Colonel Davis gave the short, crisp order: 
"Forward, Mississippians! Forward to victory!" and his noble 



102 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

fellows sprang forward to meet the onset and turn the tide of 
battle. 

I regret that I am not able to give this in the exact language 
of General Colquitt, the hero of two wars, whose statements 
are accurate and whose opinions about military movements are 
so valuable. He does not hesitate to declare that Colonel 
Davis and his regiment saved the day at Buena Vista, and 
says that this was the general opinion of the army, and that 
General Taylor himself said to him (Senator Colquitt), "Napo- 
leon never had a Marshal who behaved more superbly than 
did Colonel Davis to-day." 

" The battle of Buena Vista virtually closed the war, so far 
as the field of General Taylor's operations was concerned. Early- 
in the ensuing summer, the term of enlistment of Colonel 
Davis's regiment having expired, he returned with it to Missis- 
sippi. He was met on the way, at New Orleans, by a very 
friendly and complimentary letter from President Polk, accom- 
panying a commission as brigadier-general. The offer was no 
doubt exceedingly tempting to one of his military instincts, 
tastes and habits, but he had already — more than a year 
before — avowed his belief that the President had no power, 
under the constitution, to make such an appointment for volun- 
teer troops, and on that ground respectfully declined it. 

"A public reception was given to Colonel Davis and his reg- 
iment at New Orleans, and Sargent S. Prentiss, his former 
adversary on the hustings, who had then become a citizen and 
member of the bar of that city, was selected to make an address 
of welcome. Still more enthusiastic demonstrations awaited 
them at Natchez and Vicksburg.'' 



IX. 

IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 

Returning from Mexico "covered with glory," and refusing, 
as we liave seen, a commission as brigadier-general because he 
did not think the President had the constitutional right to 
make the appointment, Colonel Davis received on all liands 
the highest honors, and when soon after he was appointed by 
the Governor of Mississippi to fill a seat in the United States 
Senate, made vacant by the death of Senator Speight, the 
hearty verdict of the people approved of the appointment, and 
the next ensuing legislature unanimously elected him to fill 
out the term of Mr. Speight, which expired on the 3d of March, 
1851. His senatorial career, thus auspiciously begun, and con- 
tinuing, with the intervals we shall mention, until his resigna- 
tion on the secession of his State in 1861, was indeed a bril- 
liant one. In those days men were sent to the Senate because 
of their ability and their purity of character, and not because 
of great wealth or capacity as political tricksters and success- 
ful partisans. And among all of the intellectual giants that 
graced the Senate during the period of his service, it is but 
simple justice to say that in ripe scholarship, wide and accu- 
rate information on all subjects coming before the body, native 
ability, readiness as a debater, true oratory, and stainless char- 
acter, Jefferson Davis stood in the very front rank, and did as 
much to influence legislation and leave his mark on the Sen- 
ate and the country as any other man who served in his day. 

There might be quoted at great length expres.-ions of opin- 
ion as to Mr. Davis in the Senate, but we have space for only 
several notable ones. 

1103] 



104 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Mr. John Savage, in his " Living Representative ]\Ien," gives 
the following incident of Mr. Davis's first speech in the House 
of Representatives, which was a true prophecy of his after 
career in the House and Senate : 

"John Quincy Adams had a habit of always observing new 
members. He would sit near them on the occasion of their 
Congressional dehid, closely eyeing and attentively listening if 
the speech pleased him, but quickly departing if it did not. 
When Davis first arose in the House, the ex-president took a 
seat close by. Davis proceeded, and Adams did not move. 
The one continued speaking and the other listening ; and 
those who knew Mr. Adams's habits were fully aware that the 
new mender had deeply impressed him. At the close of the 
speech the 'Old Man Eloquent' crossed over to some friends 
and said, 'That young man, gentleman, is no ordinary man. 
He will! make his mark yet, mind me.'y^ 

In D}'^r's recently published book on " Great Senators of the 
United States," the author, a republican of the straightest sect, 
has a very appreciative sketch of Mr. Davis in which he says : 

"I often thought of Mr. Davis's kind personal traits in after 
years, and especially during the war when any of us Northern 
men would have had him slain as an enemy of the country, 
which sentiment he doubtless fully and naturally reciprocated. 
But now that all that is past, and the asperities of war have 
given place to the amenities of peace, I find only friendly feel- 
ings in my heart towards Jefferson Davis, and would gladly 
reciprocate if opportunity should offer, the kindness which all 
those years ago he showed to me an obscure young man, when 
he was a distinguished and powerful senator of the United 
States." 

A correspondent of the Missouri Democrat, himself an earnest 
political antagonist of Mr. Davis, writing to his paper during 
the debate on the Kansas question, gave a very vivid pen 



2 ^ 




106 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

picture of " TJie Southern Triumvirate^^ — Davis, Hunter, and 
Toombs — from which we make the following extract : 

"Washington City, January 21. 
" Yesterday, when Hale was speaking, the right side of the 
chamber was empty (as it generally is during the delivery of 
an anti-slavery speech), with the exception of a group of three 
who sat near the centre of the vacant space. This remarka- 
ble group, which wore the air if not the ensigns of power> 
authority, and public care, was composed of Senators Davis, 
Hunter, and Toombs. They were engaged in an earnest collo- 
quy, which, however, was foreign to the argument Hale was 
elaborating; for though the connection of their words was broken 
before it reached the gallery, their voices were distinctly audi- 
ble, and gave signs of their abstraction. They were thinking 
aloud. If they had met together, under the supervision of 
some artist gifted with the faculty of illustrating history and 
character by attitude and expression, who designed to paint 
them, in fresco, on the walls of the new Senate chamber, the 
combination could not have been more appropriately arranged 
than chance arranged it on this occasion. Toombs sits among 
the opposition on the left. Hunter and Davis on the right ; and 
the fact that the two first came to Davis's seat — the one gravi- 
tating to it from a remote, the other from a near point — may 
be held to indicate which of the three is the preponderating 
body in the system, if preponderance there be; and whose 
figure should occupy the foreground of the picture if any pre- 
cedence is to be accorded. Davis sat erect and composed; 
Hunter, listening, rested his head on his hand ; and Toombs's, 
inclining forward, was speaking vehemently. Their respective 
attitudes were no bad illustration of their individuality. Davis 
impressed the spectator, who observed the easy but authorita- 
tive bearing with which he put aside or assented to Toomb's 
suggestions, with the notion of some slight superiority, some 
harldly-acknowledged leadership ; and Hunter's attentiveness 



IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 10^ 

and impassibility were characteristic of his nature, for his pro- 
fundity of intellect wears the guise of stolidity, and his con- 
tinuous industry that of inertia; while Toombs's quick utterance 
and restless head bespoke his nervous terperament and activity 
of mind. But, though each is different from either of the 
others, the three have several attributes in common. They 
are equally eminent as statesmen and debaters; they are 
devoted to the same cause; they are equal in rank and rivals 
in ambition, and they are about the same age, and none of them 
—let young America take notice — wears either beard or mus- 
tache. I come again to the traits which distinguish them from 
each other. In foce and form, Davis represents the Norman 
type with singular fidelity, if my conception of that t^^pe be 
correct He is tall and sinewy, with fair hair, gray eyes, which 
are clear rather than bright, high forehead, straight nose, thin, 
compressed lips and 2~>ointed chin. His cheek bones are hol- 
low, and the vicinity ot his mouth is deeply furrowed with 
intersecting lines. Leanness of face, length and sharpness of 
feature, and length of limb, and intensity of expression, ren- 
dered acute by angular, facial outline, are the general charac- 
teristics of his appearance." 

The following Washington dispatch, sent on the day on 
which the death of Mr. Davis was announced, gives some 
pleasant reminiscences: 

"Washington, December 6. 

" There are not many persons about the capitol now who were 
there when Jefferson Davis was in the Senate, thirty years ago. 
E. Y. Murphy, one of the official stenographers of the Senate, 
was a boy just beginning shorthand work during the latter part 
of Mr. Davis's political career under the national government. 
He remembers Mr. Davis well, and speaks of him very highly. 
*He was,' said Mr. Murphy, 'a nervous, energetic speaker, and 
very impressive. He spoke rapidly and forcibly and as if he were 
thoroughly in earnest. This earnestness and force made him 
highly effective. He was a leading man in the Senate, and 



108 THE T> AVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

gave every one who saw liim the impression that he was a 
horn leader. He was not a demagogue, and would always 
take the unpopular side of any question when he believed he 
was right. In his speeches in the Senate he was not nearly so 
outspoken a secessionist as his colleague, ]\Ir. Brown, of 
Mississippi. Mr. Brown appeared to fear that ]\Ir. Davis 
would stand better with the people of Mississippi than himself, 
and for that reason took a very radical tone in his Southern 
speeches. But when the time for secession came, he could not 
make a farewell address. Mr. Brown burst into tears in the 
office of the secretary of the Senate, and said he could not 
do it. 

" The galleries were crowded with young Southern men and 
boys when Mr. Davis made his farewell address. Mr. Davis 
was the leader of the South and Judah P. Benjamin was its 
orator. Those were exciting times ; but there was never such 
a scene as when Mr. Benjamin made his farewell sj^eech. The 
galleries were packed, and when Mr. Benjamin ended by 
saying : ' The South will never surrender I never, never, never 1' 
handkerchiefs were waved and thrown into the Senate chamber, 
and there was an outbreak such as I have never seen since in 
the Senate. 

"Speaking of Mr. Davis's personal qualities, Mr. Murphy 
said that he was courteous and kind to all. He gave strangers, 
said Mr. Murpliy, the impression that he was reserved and 
unapproachable; but this was not so. His quick, nervous 
temperament made him easily nettled, and when he was 
disturbed he would sometimes make a sharp retort, but he 
would apologize for it the next moment. He stood very 
high in the estimation of the Senators on both sides of 
the chamber. His long and varied service, and his practice of 
entertaining gave him a wide acquaintance. In those 
days most of the Senators and members lived in hotels and 
boarding-houses. Money was not so abundant, and mau}^ of 
them lived in quarters which a government clerk would not 



JN TRE UNITED STATES SENATE. 109 

now occupy, Messrs. Davis, Slidell and a few others were the 
only Southern men who kept house, and they entertained in a 
luxurious manner for those days, although it would not be 
thought so now. I recollect, particularly, how kind Mr. Davis 
was to all the employees about the Senate. He knew them all 
personally, and would ask after them, and after their 
families where they had any. He complimented the steno- 
graphic reports of the Senate. He was a favorite with all the 
employees, for another reason, and that was because he would 
always endeavor to secure extra compensation for them. 

"Several years ago Mr. Murphy wrote to Mr, Davis in regard 
to two pictures w^iich a friend had secured at the sale of the 
collection of a picture dealer named Lamb. The history of the 
pictures made it probable that they had belonged to Mr. Davis. 
A letter from him was received by Mr. Murphy in which he 
said that the pictures had been stolen from him, and that he 
had had too much experience with pillage during the war to 
buy back his property twice. 

"Eepresentative Spinola, of New York, is one of the few 
persons now in Congress who was acquainted with Mr. Davis 
when he was a Senator of the United States and member of the 
cabinet. He says that at that time Mr. Davis was looked upon 
as one of the leading men of the country. He was of bright 
intellect, of great determination and firmness, and a leader 
always. For his conduct preceding and during the war he is 
generally condemned in the North, but condemnation could 
not efface his previous record." 

The Macon (Ga.) Telegi-aph and Messenger published several 
days after the death of Mr. Davis the following sketch, bring- 
ing out the opinion of Prescott, the historian, concerning Mr. 
Davis as Senator, which is of such interest that we give it in 
full: 

"Editor Telegraph : In the sketch of Mr. Jefferson Davis, in 
the Telegraph of December 7, it is said : * The historian, Pres- 



110 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

cott, 2:)ronounced him the most accomplished man in that 
body when it was full of giants.' Reference in the above is 
had to Mr. Davis and the United States Senate of 1850. That 
body was, indeed, ' full of giants ' in those days. It was then 
at the acme of its glory ; it was in its palmiest days. Never 
before at one time did so many illustrious men sit in the 
highest council of the nation. The States sent their foremost 
men to the Senate. Few were sent to the Senate for their 
wealth, or family or party influence. Abiiityp experience and 
integrity were the tests by which the respective States tried the 
men who were to represent them in that then truly venerable 
and venerated august body. To that body of ' giants ' such as 
it was in 1850, Ohio sent Salmon P. Chase; Virginia,]!. M. T. 
Hunter; Texas, Sam Houston ; Tennessee, John Bell; Georgia, 
John McPherson Berrien ; Alabama, William R. King ; ]\Iis- 
souri, Thomas H. Benton ; North Carolina, AVillie P. Mangum ; 
Louisiana, Pierre Soule ; Michigan, Lewis Cass ; Illinois, 
Stephen A. Douglass ; Kentucky, Henry Clay ; ]\Iassachusetts, 
Daniel Webster ;- South Carolina, John C. Calhoun ; and IMis- 
sissippi, Jefferson Davis. 

" Such were the giants of the Senate of 1850, among whom, 
according to Mr. Prescott, Mr. Davis was 'the most accom- 
plished.' Coming from such a source, it was indeed a great 
compliment to the then Mississippi Senator and the subse- 
quent chief of the Southern Confederacy. 

" After the writer of this read the sketch of Mr. Davis in 
the Telegraph it was a wonder to him how the author of the 
sketch came by the facts to which he alludes. Had he ever 
seen them in print ? If not, from whom did he get them ? 
That he might know, the writer called at the office of the Tele- 
graph and asked the questions above propounded. To the 
writer's inquiries it was, in substance, replied that the author 
of the sketch had seen them in print years ago; that, accord- 
ing to his recollection, he found them in ^Ir. Prescott's letters. 



IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. Ill 

in which the latter presented some reminiscences of the 
Senate of 1850; that theyfmade a deep impression on his 
mind, and hence were fixed in his memory. Ijpon hearing 
this, the writer proceeded to narrate tlie following facts, which 
he now, at the editor's request, gives to the public. 

"In March, 1850, the writer, then a student in the Brown 
University, Providence, E.. I., was returning to college after a 
brief visit to his home in Georgia. Passing through Wash- 
ington city, he made it his pleasure to remain at the capital 
for the purpose of visiting the houses of Congress and seeing 
the celebrities of the nation. One of the most exciting periods 
in the history of the United States Congress had just been 
closed by the passage of the celebrated compromise measures 
of 1850 The capital and all the public buildings were draped 
in mourning. Tha remains of one of ihe greatest statesmen 
this country ever produced were lying in state in the nation's 
capitol. The eloquent voice of the great South Carolina ' nulli- 
fier,' as he was contemptuously called by his enemies, had just 
been hushed in death, and his body was waiting transportation 
to the State which honored him above* all others living or 
dead. It was then the writer made his way to the Senate 
chamber to see its great men and to listen to its debates. 
On one ot the front seats of the gallery ho sat with a printed 
page in his hand, which gave the names of tlie Senators and 
,toId the seats which they respectively occupied. 

"It was an occasion of special interest, and perhaps every 
senator was in his place. But this was not his first visit to 
the Senate chamber. He had been there several times, and 
had so learned how to distinguish the most illustrious of that 
great body of illustrious men that he could point them out to 
others. There, on the day mentioned, he sat, eagerly looking 
down upon the splendid array below him, and listening to 
their brief addresses. There stood Webster, with the head of 
'Jupiter Tonans,' the most impressive looking man of the whole 



112 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

body. The writer, when a boy in the schools of Boston, had 
heard the greatest speech of his life on the completion of the 
Bunker Hill monument. Therefore Webster was not new to 
him. But what shall he say of the slogan of the Douglas, the 
little giant of the AVest ? Of the rough but massive speech of 
Benton, the blunt and burly senator of Missouri? Of our 
own silver-tongued Berrien ? Of the matchless and seductive 
eloquence of Clay, Kentucky's great orator and the pride of his 
party ? One after another man}^ of the great senators were on 
their feet with something to say on the matter before the Sen- 
ate. They impressed the writer — deeply impressed him, one 
and all. Years have passed since then. He has looked on 
many deliberative bodies in America and in England. Not 
the House of Lords, with the Earl of Granville on the wool- 
sack ; not the House of Commons, with Gladstone on the oppo- 
sition bench, impressed him half so much. Nor among the 
great men whom he saw and heard in the United States Sen- 
ate of 1850 did any one so impress him as the senator from 
]\Iississippi. Nor was he alone in this. By his side was one 
who was as seemingly interested as he was. This stranger 
showed that he was looking with interest and with unmistaka- 
ble emotion on the scene before him. And yet he was not 
looking, for he was blind — or too blind to see with his^ visual 
organs. Some 'thick drop serene,' as in Milton, had 'quenched,' 
or 'dim suffusion veiled his orbs.' But not blinded was his 
interior eye; it supplied the lack of the outer, and, as Milton 
saw visions that were hid to those whose eyes were open to the 
light of day, the intellectual eye of the stranger saw farther 
and deeper into men than many whose orbs were neither 
'quenched' nor 'veiled.' As senator after senator would arise 
and address the Senate the stranger would turn to the writer 
and ask his name. Each time when he learned the name he 
would make some remark about the speaker, evincing such 
sense and judgment that it would attract the writer of this to 



IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. US 

the stranger himself, a manifestly remarkable man, by his 
side. In person he was tall and slender, but commanding. 
His face was cast in the most intellectual mould and was 
lighted up by fires of the highest order of genius. ISTever 
before, tlie writer thought, had he conversed with one so j)re- 
eminently charming and fascinating. His attention was fre- 
quently drawn from some senator before him to the gentleman 
who was profoundly interesting him by his questions and star- 
tling him by his appropriate and brilliant replies. The writer's 
young mind feasted on the conversation of the stranger. It 
was indeed a treat and a feast, which he can never forget to 
his latest day. At length Mr. Davis rose to address the Senate. 
One could not help marking the increased interest which the 
Mississippi senator seemed to arouse in the stranger. He was 
evidently intensely interested in the senator from first to last 
It was manifest that Mr. Davis had made on him a profound 
impression. Nor was it surjirising when the gentleman, speak- 
ing with considerable emotion, and with great emphasis, said 
at the conclusion of the speech of the senator from JMissis- 
sippi: *IIe impressed me more by dignity of manner and 
speech with what a model senator should be than any otlier 
I have heard address the Senate.' Such in substance were his 
words, with more to the same effect. 

"This conversation the writer has often related since those 
days. Having never seen them in print, he was surprised to 
read what was so recently told in the Telegraph, and to learn 
that this high estimate of Jefferson Davis as a senator had 
appeared in print over the name of Mr. Prescott. 

"No one was more capable of forming a correct judgment of 
men than the author of the 'Conquest of Mexico.' No one 
among us was more versed in the history of great men and of 
great deliberative bodies. Perhaps, while listening to the 
debates of the American Senate, he was thinking of that senate 
before which Cicero 'pleaded the cause of Cicily against Ver- 
8 



114 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

res/ and before which Tacitus * thundered against the oppres- 
sion of Africa.' 

''Macon, Ga., December 7th, 1889. J. O. A. Clark." 

Mr. Frank H. Alfriend, in his interesting "Life of Jefferson 
. Davis," gives so just an estimate of his senatorial career that 
/we quote it as follows: 

' "A peculiar feature in the publio career of Mr. Davis was 
its steady and consecutive development. He has accepted ser- 
vice, always and only, in obedience to the concurrent confidence 
of his fellow-citizens in his peculiar qualifications for the 
y emergency. From the beginning he gave the promise of those 
\ high capacities which the fervid eulogy of Grattan accorded 
to Chatham — to 'strike a blow in the world that should 
resound tlirough its history.' His first election to Congress 
was the spontaneous acknowledgment of the profound impres- 
sion produced by his earliest intellectual efforts. The consum- 
mate triumph of his genius and valor at Buena Yista did not 
exceed the anticipations of his friends, who knew the ardor 
and assiduity of his devotion to his cherished science, and now 
in the noble arena of the American Senate his star was still to 
be in the ascendant. / 

"At the first session of the Thirtieth Congress, Jefferson 
Davis took his seat as a Senator of the United States from the 
State of Mississippi. The entire period of his connections with 
the Senate, from 1847 to 1851, and from 1857 to 1861, scarcely 
comprises eight years; but those were years pregnant with the 
fate of a nation, and in their brief progress lie stood in that 
august body the equal of giant intellects, and grappled with 
the power and skill of a master, the great ideas and events of 
those momentous days. Mr. Davis could safely trust, what- 
ever of ambition he may cherish for the distinguished consid- 
eration of posterity, to a faithful record of his service in the 
Senate. His senatorial fame is a beautiful harmony of the 



Jir THE Vj^ITJ£D states senate 115 

most pronounoed and attractive features of the best parliamen- 
tary models. He was as intrepid and defiant as Chatham, but 
as scholarly as Brougham; as elegant and j^erspicuous in dic- 
tion as Canning, and often as profound and philosophical in 
his comprehension of general principles as Burke; when roused 
by a sense of injury, or by the force of his earnest conviction, 
as much the incarnation of fervor and zeal as Grattan, but, 
like Fox, subtle, ready, and always armed cap-a-pie for the 
quick encounters of debate. 

"Among all the eminent associates of ]\Ir. Davis in that body, 
there- were very few who possessed his peculiar qualifications for 
its most distinguished honors. His character, no less than his 
demeanor, may be aptly termed senatorial, and his bearing was 
always attuned to his noble conception of the Senate as an 
august assemblage of the embassadors of sovereign States. 
He carried to the Senate the loftiest sense of the dignity and 
responsibility of his trust, and convictions upon political ques- 
tions, which were the result of the most thorough and elaborate 
investigation. Kever for one instant varying from the princi- 
ples of his creed, he never doubted as to the cotirse of duty; 
profound, accurate in information, there was no question per- 
taining to the science of government or its administration that 
he did not illuminate with a light clear, poweriiil and original. 

"It has been remarked of Mr. Davis's stjde as a speaker, that 
it is 'orderly rather than ornate,' and the remark is correct so 
far as it relates to the mere statement of the conditions of the 
discussion. For mere rhetorical glitter, Mr. Davis's speeches 
afford but poor models, but for clear logic and convincing argu- 
ment, apt illustration, bold and original imagery, and genuine 
pathos, they are unsurpassed by any ever delivered in the 
American Senate. Though the Senate was, undoubtedly, his 
appropriate arena as an orator, and tlibugh it may well be 
doubted, whether he was rivaled i-n senatorial eloquence by 
any contemporary, Mr. Davis is hardly less gifted in the attri- 



116 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

butes of popular eloquence. Upon great occasions he will 
move a large crowd with an irresistible power. As a popular 
orator, he does not seek to sway and toss the will with violent 
and passionate emotion, but his eloquence is more a triumph 
of argument aided by an enlistment of passion and persuasion 
to reason and conviction. He has less of the characterics of 
Mirabeau, than of that higher type of eloquence, of which 
Cicero, Burke and George Canning were representatives, and 
w^hich is pervaded by passion, subordinated to the severer tri- 
bunal of intellect. It was the jDrivilege of the writer, on 
repeated occasions, during the late war. to witness the triumpli 
of Mr. Davis's eloquence over a popular assemblage. Usually 
the theme and the occasion were worthy of the orator, and 
difficult indeed would it be to realize a nobler vision of the 
majesty of intellect. To a current of thought, perennial and 
inexhaustible, compact, logical and irresistible, was added a 
fire that threw its warmth into the coldest bosom, and infused 
a glow of light into the very core of the subject. His voice, 
flexible and articulate, reaching any compass that was requi- 
site, attitude and gestures, all conspired to give power and 
expression to his language, and the hearer was impressed as 
though in the presence of the very transfiguration of eloquence. 
The printed efforts of Mr. Davis will not only live as memo- 
rials of parliamentary and popular eloquence, but as invalua- 
ble stores of information to the political and historical student. 
They epitomize some of the most important periods of Ameri- 
can history, and embrace the amplest discussion of an 
extended range of subjects pertaining to almost every science. 
"The development in Mr. Davis of the high and rare quali- 
ties, requisite to parliamentary leadership, was rapid and 
decisive. His nature instinctively aspires to influence and 
power, and under no circumstances could it rest contented in 
an attitude of inferiority. Independence, originality, and intre- 
pidity, added to earnest and intelligent conviction; u a waver- 



IN THE UNItED STATES SEJ^ATE. 11? 

iiig devotion to principle and purpose; a will stern and inex- 
orable, and a disposition frank, courteous, and generous, are 
features of character which rarely fail to make a representa- 
tive man. After the death of Mr. Calhoun, he was incompara- 
bly the ablest exponent of States' Rights principle, and even 
during the life of that great publicist, Mr. Davis, almost 
equally with him, shared the labors and responsibilities of 
leadership. His personal courage is of that knightly crder, 
which in an age of chivalry would have sought the trophies of 
the tourne}', and his moral heroism fixed him immovably upon 
the solid rock of principle, indifferent to the inconvenience of 
being in a minority and in no dread of the storms of popular 
passion. His faith in his principles was no less earnest than 
his confidence in his ability to triumphantly defend them. In 
the midst of the agitation and excitement of 1850, Henry Clay, 
the Great Compromiser, whose brilliant but erring genius so 
long and fatally led estray, from the correct understanding of 
the vital issue at stake between the North and South, a 
numerous party ot noble and true-hearted Southern gentle- 
men, furnished the occasion of an impressive illustration of 
this quality. Turning, in debate to the Mississippi senator^ 
he notified tl'ie latter of hi^ purpose, at some future day, to 
debate with him elaborately, an important quesion of princi- 
ple.l 'Now is the moment,' was the reply of the intrepid 
.Davis, ever eager to champion his beloved and imperiled 
South, equally against her avowed enemies, and the not less 
fatal policy of those who were but too willing to compromise 
upon an issue vital to her tights and dignity. And what a 
shock of arms might then have been witnessed, could Clay 
have dispelled thirty years of his ripe three-score and ten! 
Each would have found a foeman worthy of his steel. In 
answer to this bold defiance. Clay, like Hotspur, would have 
rushed to the charge, with visor up and lance couchant; and 
Davis, another Saladin, no less frank than his adversary; but 



118 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

far more dexterous, would have met him with a flash of that 
Damascus scymetar, whose first blow severed the neck of the 
foeman. 

"That would have been a bold ambition that could demand 
a formal tender of leadership from the brilliant array of gal- 
lant gentlemen, ripe scholars, distinguished orators and states- 
men, who, for twenty years before the war, wore the valiant 
champions in Congress of the principles and aspirations of the 
South. Yet few will deny the pre-eminence of Mr. Davis, in 
the eye of the country and the world, among States' Rights 
leaders. Equally with Mr. Calhoun, as the leader of a great 
intellectual movement, he stamped his impress upon the endur- 
ing tablets of time. 

"Like Mr. Calhoun, too, Mr. Davis gave little evidence of 
capacity or taste for mere party tactics. Neither would have 23er- 
formed the duties of drill-sergeant, in local organizations, for 
the purposes of a political canvass, so well as hundreds of men 
of far lighter caliber and less stability. Happily, both sought 
and found a more congenial field of action. 

"The unexpired term, for which Mr. Davis had been elected 
in 1847, ended in 1851, and, though he was immediaiely re- 
elected, in consequence of his subsequent resignation his first 
service in the Senate ended with the term for which he had 
first been elected. A recurrence to the records of Congress will 
exhibit the eventful nature of this period, especially in its con- 
clusion. In the earlier portion of his senatorial service, Mr. 
Davis participated conspicuously in debate and in the general 
business of legislation. Here, as in the House of Ilepresenta- 
tives, his views upon military affairs were always received with 
marked respect, and no measure looking to the improvement 
of the army failed to receive his cordial co-operation." 

The high debates of those stirring times are well worthy of 
careful study, and no unprejudiced man can give them even a 



IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 119 

casual reading without seeing that the Senator from Missis- 
sippi was the peer of any of his colleagues. 

The excellent sketch in the Times-Democrat, from which we 
liave quoted so freely, thus gives this part of Mr. Davis's 
career : 

'' The new senator took his seat at the opening of the first 
session of the Thirtieth Congress, in December, 1847, and held 
it during the four sessions next ensuing. The reputation 
which he had achieved as a soldier gave special weight to his 
opinions on questions relatmg to the array, and he was made 
chairman of the committee on military affairs. It was not as 
a specialist, however, that he became chiefly distinguished. 
While never neglectful of the subjects with which he w^as 
especially charged, his most earnest attention was given to 
questions of statesmanship involving great constitutional prin- 
ciples. 

"It was while serving as chairman of the military commit- 
tee of the Senate that a controversy arose with General Scott, 
growing out of his real or supposed opposition to the measures 
proposed in Congress for conferring additional rank and pay 
upon that distinguished officer. The misunderstanding that 
ensued led afterward to an unfriendly and somewhat embit- 
tered correspondence, and no restoration of harmony between 
them was ever fully effected. 

" In the canvass of 1 848 General Taylor, the father-in-law 
and late military chief of Colonel Davis, was the Whig candi- 
date for the presidenc}'', and General William 0. Butler, his 
division commander at Monterey, the Democratic candidate 
for vice-presidency. As a member of the Democratic party, 
Colonel Davis supported Cass and Butler,but without any rup- 
ture of his personal friendly relations with Taylor, who was 
elected. 

" General Taylor succeeded !Mr. Polk in tlie j^residency on 
the 4th of March, 1849. In the next ensuing Congress (the 



120 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Thirty-first) occurred the cuhnination of the controversies 
arising out of the recent acquisitions of new territory after the 
war witli Mexico. In these Colonel Davis took an active and 
leading part. He opposed the plan of compromise proposed 
by Mr. Clay and eventually adopted, after some modification 
of its details. Although opposed to the principles on which 
the Missouri compromise was originally adopted, yet he favored, 
as a measure of conciliation, the extending of the compromise 
line, already agreed upon, through the newly acquired terri- 
tory to the Pacific. This proposition, however, was defeated 
by a sectional majorit3\ 

"In 1850 the legislature of Mississippi re-elected him to the 
Senate, as his own successor, for the full term ensuing — from 
1851 to 1857. The legislature, at the same session, provided 
for the call of a convention, in the course of the ensuing year, 
to consider the questions then agitating the country. 

"Meantime certain modifications of party lines had been 
taking i:)lace. A portion of the democratic party, alarmed by 
what they regarded as indications of a rupture of the Union, 
had united with the whigs in some of the Southern States — 
notably in South Carolina and Mississippi — in the formation 
of a Union party — so styled by its organizers — while a smaller 
section of whigs, on the other hand, under apprehension of 
intolerable Federal encroachments upon the rights of the States, 
had combined with the majority of the democrats, for the 
maintenance of State rights at all hazards. Of this latter 
party Mr. Davis had become, since the death of !Mr. Calhoun, 
in March, 1850, if not the head, at least one of the most emi- 
nent and conspicuous leaders, especially in his own State. He 
always, however, earnestly, and, no doubt, sincerely, disavowed 
any sympathy with disunion sentiment, and on one occasion 
had declared on the floor of the Senate that if any resj^ectable 
man should call him a disunionist, he would 'answer him in 
raonosyllables.' " 



2J^ TItE VmTED STATES SENATE. 121 

But we cannot better portray the senatorial career of Mr. 
Davis at this period than by quoting his own modest account 
of it as given in his ''Rise and Fall of the Confederate Gov- 
ernment." He says : 

" The first session of the Thirty-first Congress (1849 '50) was 
a memorable one. The recent acquisition from Mexico of New 
Mexico and California required legislation by Congress. In 
the Senate the bills reported by the Committee on Territories 
were referred to a select committee, of which Mr. Cla}', the dis- 
tinguished Senator from Kentucky, was chairman. From this 
committee emanated the bills which, taken together, are known 
as the compromise measures of 1850. 

"With some others, I advocated the division of the newly 
acquired territory by an extension to the Pacific Ocean of the 
Missouri compromise line of thirty-six degrees and thirty min- 
utes north latitude. This was not because of any inherent 
merit or fitness in that line, but because it had been accepted 
by the country as a settlement of the sectional question which, 
thirty years before, had threatened a rupture of the Union, and 
it had acquired in the public mind a prescriptive respect which 
it seemed unwise to disregard. A majority, however, decided 
otherwise, and the line of political conciliation was then obliter- 
ated, as far as it lay in the power of Congress to do so. An 
analysis of the vote will show that this result was effected 
almost exclusively by the representatives of tlie North, and 
that the South was not responsible for an action which proved 
to be the opening of Pandora's box.* 

" However objectionable it may have been in 1820 to adopt 
that political line as expressing a geographical definition of 
difi'erent sectional interests, and however it maybe condemned 

" *The vote in the Senate on the proposition to continue the line of the ^Missouri compro- 
mise through the newly acquired territory to the Pacific was twenty-four yeas to thirty-four 
nays. Reckoning Delaware and Missouri ;as Southern States, the vote of the two sections 
was exactly equal. Theyeaswere all cast by Southern Senators ; the nays were all North- 
ern, except two rrom Delaware, one from Missouri, and one from Kentucky." 



122 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

as the assumption by Congress of a function not delegated to 
it, it is to be remembered that the act had received such recog- 
nition and giiasi-ratification by tlie people of the States as to 
give it a value which it did not originally possess. Pacifica- 
tion had been the fruit borne by the tree, and it should not 
have been recklessly hewed down and cast into the fire. The 
frequent assertion then made was that all discrimination was 
unjust, and that the popular will should be left untrammeled 
in the formation of new States. This theory was good enough 
in itself, and as an abstract proposition could not be gainsaid; 
but its practical operation has but poorly sustained the expec- 
tations of its advocates, as will be'seen when we come to con- 
sider the events that occurred a few years later in Kansas and 
elsewhere. Retrospectively viewed under the mellowing light 
of time, and with the calm consideration we can usually give 
to the irremediable past, the compromise legislation of 1850 
bears the impress of that sectional spirit so widely at variance 
with the general purposes of the Union, and so destructive of 
the harmony and mutual benefit which the constitution was 
intended to secure. 

" The refusal to divide the territory acquired from Mexico 
by an extension of the line of the IMissouri Compromise to the 
Pacific was a consequence of the purpose to admit California 
as a State of the Union before it had acquired the requisite 
population, and while it was mainly under the control of a 
military organization sent from New York during the war with 
j\Iexico and disbanded in California upon tiie restoration of 
peace. The inconsistency of the argument against the exten- 
sion of the line was exhibited in the division of the Territory 
of Texas by that parallel, and payment to tiie State of money 
to secure her consent to the partition of her domain. In the 
case of Texas, the North had everything to gain and nothing 
to lose by the application of the practice of geographical com- 
promise on a arbitrary line. In the case of California, the 



IN THE VNlTED STATES SENATE. vn 

conditions were reversed; the South might have been the 
gainer and the North tiie loser by a recognition of the same rule.* 

" The compensation which it was alleged that the South re- 
ceived was a more effective law for the rendition of fugitives 
from service or labor. But it is to be remarked that this law 
provided for the execution by the general government of obli- 
.gations which had been imposed by the Federal compact upon 
the several States of the Union. The benefit to be derived from 
a fulfillment of that law would be small in comparison with the 
evil to result from the plausible pretext that the States had 
thus been relieved from a duty which they had assumed in the 
adoption of the compact of union. Whatever tended to lead the 
people of any of the States to feel that they could be relieved 
from their constitutional obligations by transferring them to 
the general government, or that they might thus or otherwise 
evade or resist them, could not fail to be like the tares which 
the enemy sowed amid the wheat. The union of States, formed 
to secure the permanent welfare of posterity and to promote har- 
mony among the constituent States, could not, without chang- 
ing its character, survive such alienation as rendered its parts 
hostile to the security, prosperity, and happiness of one another. 

" It was reasonably argued that, as the legislatures of four- 
teen of the States had enacted what were termed 'personal 
liberty laws,' which forbade the co-operation of State officials 
in the rendition of fugitives from service and labor, it became 
necessary that the general government should provide the 

" *NoTE. — ^Whilcths compromise measures of 1850 were pending, and the excitement con- 
cerning them -was at its highest, I one day overtook Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, and Mr. Ber- 
rien, of Georgia, in the Capitol grounds. They -were in earnest conversation. It was the 
7th of March —the day on which Mr. Webster had delivered his great speech. Jlr. Clay, 
addressing me in the friendly manner which he had always employed sinc3 I was a school 
boy in Lexington, asked me what I thought of the speech. I liked it better that he did. 
nethensuggestcdthat I should 'join the compromise men,' saying that it was a measure 
which he thought would probably give peace to the country for thirty years— the period th~t 
had elapsed since the adoption of the compromise of 1S20. Then, turning to Mr. Berrien, he 
said, * You and I will be under ground belore that time, but our young friend here may 
have trouble to m.eet.' I somewhat impatiently declared my unwillingness to transfer to 
posterity a trial which they would be relatively less able to meet than we were, and passed 
on. my way." 



124 THE DAVIS MEMOltlAL VOLVME. 

requisite machinery for the execution of the law. The result 
proved what might have been anticipated — that those commu- 
nities which had repudiated their constitutional obligations, 
which had nullified a previous law of Congress for the execu- 
tion of a i^rovision of the Constitution, and had murdered men 
who came j^eacefully to recover their property, would evade or 
obstruct, so as to render practically worthless, any law that 
could be enacted for that purpose. In the exceptional cases in 
which it might be executed, the event would be attended with 
such conflict between the State and Federal authorities as to pro- 
duce consequent evils greater than those it was intended to 
correct. 

"It was during the progress of these memorable controver- 
sies that tli.e South lost its most trusted leader, and the Senate 
its greatest and purest statesman. He was taken from us — 

' Like a summer-dried fountain, 
When our need was tfie sorest ; ' 

when his intellectual power, his administrative talent, his love 
of peace, and his devotion to the Constitution, might have 
averted collision; or, failing in that, he might have been to 
the South the Palinurus to ;steer the bark in safety over the 
perilous sea. Truly did Mr. Webster — his personal friend, 
although his greatest political rival — say of him in his obitu- 
ary address, 'There was nothing groveling, or low, or meanly 
selfish, that came near the head or the heart of Mr. Calhoun. 
His prophetic warnings speak from the grave with the wisdom 
of inspiration. Would that they could have been appreciated 
by his countrymen while he yet lived ! 

" I had been re-elected by the Legislature of Mississippi as 
my own successor, and entered upon a new term of service in 
the Senate on March 4, 1851. 

"On my return to Mississippi in 1851, the subject chiefly 
agitating the public mind was that of the 'compromise' meas- 
ures of the previous year. Consequent upon these was a pro- 
position for a convention of delegates, from the people of the 



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126 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Southern States, respectively, to consider what steps ought to 
be taken for their future peace and safety, and the preservation 
of their constitutional rights. There was diversity of opinion 
with regard to the merits of the measures referred to, but the 
disagreement no longer followed the usual lines of party divis» 
ion. They who saw in those measures the forerunner of dis- 
aster to the South had no settled policy beyond a convention' 
the object of which should be to devise new and more effec- 
tual guarantees against the perils of usurpation. They were 
unjustly charged with a desire to destroy the Union — a feel- 
ing entertained by few, very few, if by any, in Mississippi, and 
avowed by none. 

"There were many, however, who held that the principles 
of the Declaration of Independence, ard the purposes for which 
the Union was formed, were of higher value than the mere 
Union itself. Independence existed before the compact of 
union between.the States; and if that compact should be bro- 
ken in part, and therefore destroyed in whole, it was hoped 
that the liberties of the'people in the States might still be pre- 
served. Those who were'most devoted to the Union of the 
Constitution might, consequently, be expected to resist most 
sternly any usurpation of undelegated power, the effect of which 
would be to;warp the Federal government from its jiroper char- 
acter, and, by 'sapping the foundation, to destroy the Union of 
the States. 

"My recent re-election to the United States Senate had con- 
ferred upon me for six years longer the office which I preferred 
to all others. I could not, therefore, be suspected of desiring 
a nomination for any other office from the Democratic Conven- 
tion, the meeting of which was then drawing near. Having, as 
a Senator of the State, freely participated in debate on the 
measures which were now exciting so much interest in the pub- 
lic mind, it was very proper that I should visit the people in 
different parts of the State and render an account of my stew- 
ardship. 



IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. * 127 

"My devotion to the Union of our fathers had been so often 
and so publicly declared — I had, on the floor of the Senate, so 
defiantly challenged any question of my fidelity to it ; my ser- 
vices, civil and military, had now extended through so long a 
period, and were so generally known — that I felt quite assured 
that no whisperings of envy or ill will could lead the people of 
Mississippi to believe that I had dishonored their trust by using 
the power they had conferred on me to destroy the Government 
to which I was accredited. Then, as afterward,! regarded the 
separation of the States as a great, though not the greatest, evil. 

"I returned from my tour among the people at the time ap- 
pointed for the meeting of the nominating convention of the 
Democratic (or State-Rights) party. During the previous year 
the Governor, General John A. Quitman, had been compelled 
to resign his office to answer an indictment against him for com- 
plicity with the 'filibustering' expeditions against Cuba. The 
charges were not sustained;' many of the Democratic party of 
Mississippi, myself included, recognized a consequent obligation 
to renominate him for the office of which he had been deprived. 
Wh'^n, however, the delegates met in party convention, the 
committee appointed to select candidates, on comparison of 
opinions, concluded that, in view of the effort to fix upon the 
party the imputation of a purpose of disunion, some of the 
antecedents of General Quitman might endanger success. A 
proposition was therefore made, in the committee on nomina- 
tions, that I should be invited to become a candidate, and that, 
if General Quitman would withdraw, m}'' acceptance of the 
nomination and the resignation of my place in the United 
States Senate, which it was known would result, was to be fol- 
lowed by the appointment by the Governor of General Quitman 
to the vacated place in the Senate. I offered no objection to 
this arrangement, but left it to General Quitman to decide. 
He claimed the nomination for the governorship, or nothing 
and was so nominated. 



128 ' THE DAVIS ME3I0BIAL VOLUME. 

"To promote the success of the Democratic nominees, I 
engaged actively in the canvass, and continued in the field until 
stricken down by disease. This occurred just before the elec- 
tion of delegates to a State convention, for which provision had 
been made by the legislature, and the canvass for which, con- 
ducted in the main upon party lines, was in progress simulta- 
neously with that for the ordinary State officers. The Demo- 
cratic majority in the State when the canvass began was esti- 
mated at eight thousand. At this election, in September, for 
delegates to the State convention, we were beaten by about 
seven thousand five hundred votes. Seeing in this result the 
foreshadowing of almost inevitable defeat, General Quitman 
withdrew from the canvass as a candidate, and the executive 
committee of the party (empowered to fill vacancies) called on 
me to take his place. My health did not permit me to leave 
home at that time, and only about six weeks remained before 
the election was to take place; but, being assured that I was 
not expected to take any active part, and that the f>arty asked 
only the use of my name, I consented to be announced, and 
immediately resigned from the United States Senate. Never- 
theless, I soon afterward took the field in person, and worked 
earnestly until tlie day of election. I was defeated, but the 
majority of more than seven thousand votes, that had been 
cast a short time before against the party with which I was 
associated, was reduced to less than one thousand.* 

"*The following letter, written in 1853 to the Hon. William J. Brown, of Indiana, 
formerly a member of Congress from that State, and subsequently published, relates to the 
events of this period, and aSbrds nearly contemporaneous evidence in confirmation of the 
statements of the text : 

" Washingtox, D. C., May 7, 1S53. 

" My Dear Sir : I received the Sentinel containing your defense of me against the false 
accusation of disunionism, and, before I had returned to you the thanks to which you are 
entitled, I received this day the St. Joseph Valley Register, marked by you, to call my atten- 
tion to an article in answer to your defense, which was just in all things, save your too com- 
plimentary terms. 

" I M"ish I had the letter quoted from, that you might publish the whole of that which is 
garbled to answer a purpose. In a part of the letter ijot published, I put such a damper on 
the attsmpt to fix on me the desire to break up our Union, and presented other points in a 
form so little acceptable to the unfriendly inquiries, that the publication of the letter had to 
be drawn out of them. 



m TME UJ^ITUD STATES SENATE. 129 

"In this canvass, both before and after I became a candi- 
date, no argument or appeal of mine was directed against the 
perpetuation of the Union. Believing, however, that the 
signs of the time portended danger to the South from the 
usurpation by the general government of undelegated powers, 
I counseled that Mississippi should enter into the proposed 
meeting of the people of the Southern States, to consider what 

" At the risk of being wearisome, but encouraged by your marked friendship, I will give 
you a statement in the case. The meeting of October, 1849, was a convention of delegates 
equally representing the Whig and Democratic parties in Mississippi. The resolutions were 
decisive as to equality of right in the South with the North to the Territories acquired from 
Mexico, and proposed a convention of the Southern States. I was not a member, but on 
invitation addressed the convention. The succeeding legislature instructed me, as a Sena- 
tor, to assert this equality, and, under the existing circumstances, to resist by all constitu- 
tional means the admission of California as a State. At a called session of the legislature in 
1850, a self-constituted committee called on me, by letter, for my views. They were men 
who had enacted or approved the resolutions of the convention of 184D, and instructed me 
as members of the legislature, in regular session, in the early part of the year 1S50. To them 
I replied that I adhered to the policy they had indicated and instructed me in their official 
character to pursue. 

" 1 pointed out the mode in which their policy could, in my opinion, be executed with- 
out bloodshed or disastrous convulsion, but in terms of bitter scorn alluded to such as would 
insult me with a desire to. destroy the Union, for which my whole life proved me to be a 
devotee. 

" Pardon the egotism, in consideration of the occasion, when I say to you that my father 
and my uncles fought through the Revolution of 1776, giving their youth, their blood, and 
their little patrimony to the constitutional freedom which I claim as my inheritance. Three 
of my brothers fought in the war of 1S12. Two of them were comrades of the Hero of the 
Hermitage, and received his commendation for gallantry at New Orleans. At sixteen years 
of age I was given to the service of my country ; for twelve years of my life I have borne its 
arms and served it zealously, if not well. As I feel the infirmities, which suffering more 
than age has brought upon me, it would be a bitter reflection, indeed, if I was forced to 
conclude that my countrymen would hold all this light when weighed against the empty 
panegyric which a time-serving politician can bestow upon the Union, for which he never 
made a sacrifice. 

*' In the Senate I announced that, if any respectable man would call me a disunionist, i 
would answer him in monosyllables . . . But I .'lave often asserted the right, for which the 
battles of the Revolution were lought — the right of a people to change their government 
whenever it was found to be oppressive, and subversive of the objects for which govern- 
ments are instituted— and have contended for the independence and sovereignty of the 
States, a part of the creed of which Jefferson was the apostle, Madison the expounder, and 
Jackson the consistent defender. 

" I have writcn freely, and more than I designed. Accept my thanks f >r your friendly 
advocacy. Present me in terms of kind remembrance to your family, and'bclieve me, very 
sincerely yours, Jeffeiison DA^^s. 

*■ Note.— No party in Mississippi ever advocated disunion. They differed as to the mode 
of securing their rights in the Union, and on the_powet of a State to secede— neither advo- 
cating the exercise ol the power. J. D." 

9 



130 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

could and should be done to insure our future safety, frankly- 
stating my conviction that, unless such action was taken then, 
sectional rivalry would engender greater evils in the future, 
and that, if the controversy was postponed, ' the last opportu- 
nity for a peaceful solution would be lost, then the issue would 
have to be settled by blood.' " 



X. 



SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER FRANKLIN 

PIERCE. 

The admirable sketch from which we have so often q.uoted 
so well describes the career of Mr. Davis as Secretary of War 
that we do not hesitate to give it in fall : 

"After seven years of almost uninterruptedly continuous 
public service, either civil or military, Mr, Davis was now in 
retirement for some months. During this period he has 
described himself as happy in the peaceful pursuits of a plan- 
ter, busily engaged in cares for servants, in the improve- 
ment of his land, in building, in rearing live stock, and the 
like occupations. He took, nevertheless, an active interest in 
the presidential canvass of 1852, and on the election of Gen- 
eral Pierce was invited to a seat in his cabinet. This offer was 
at first declined, but having accepted an invitation to attend the 
inauguration, which took place on the 4th of March, 1853, he 
was induced, 'by public considerations,' on its renewal, to recon- 
sider the matter and accept the ofiGice of Secretary of War. 

"Frequent experience has proved that the men who take 
broad views, based upon great principles — the men who are 
characterized, with some covert sarcasm, as 'theorists,' 'doc- 
trinaires,' or 'abstractionists' — when entrusted with the respon- 
sibilities of public office are often, if not always, the most 
practical and judicious administrators — more successful than 
the men of details. 

"It was so with Turgot in France, and Hamilton in America, 
in matters of finance, and it was eminently so in the cases of 

[131] 



132 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis — both regarded by many 
as 'abstractionists/ but both, by general admission, among the 
most successful administrators that have ever presided over 
the War Department of the United States. 

" With regard to Mr. Davis, in particular, the combination 
of the speculative in principle with the practical in action, was 
one the most distinctive features of his character throughout 
his career, and has already been the subject of remark. A brief 
and modest account of the leading events of his official term 
is given in one of the preliminary chapters of his own work, 
the ' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.' 

"Another authority (the * American Cyclopaedia') says: 
' His administration of the War Department was marked by 
ability and energy, and was highly popular with the army. 
He proposed or carried into effect, among other measures, the 
revision of the army regulations ; the introduction of camels 
into America ; the introduction of the light infantry or rifle 
system of tactics ; the manufacture of rifled muskets and pistols 
and the use of the minie ball; the addition of four regiments 
to the army: the augmentation of the sea coast and frontier 
defenses; and the system of explorations in the western part 
of the continent, for geographical purposes and for determin- 
ing the best route for a railroad to the Pacific' 

"To these may be added certain valuable improvements in 
the casting of heavy guns and the manufacture of gunpowder. 

"The Pacific railroad was a project in which he had already 
taken a lively interest while! in the Senate. On the surface it 
may have seemed contrary to the Democratic tradition of oppo- 
sition to works of internal improvement by the Federal gov- 
ernment, but Mr. Davis, with all his tenacity of adherence to 
principle, was not one of the unbending theorists who refuse to 
recognize the existence of exceptional cases in the application 
of general principles. He advocated this measure on the 
grounds of the 'military necessity for such means of transporta- 



SECRET ABY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 13J 

tion, and the need of safe and rapid communication with the 
Pacific slope, to secure its continuance as a part of tlie Union.' 

"With regard to the new regiments authorized by act of Con- 
gress in 1855, the appointment of tlie ofiiccrs was of course a 
power vested in the President.but a large aiscretion was no doubt 
entrusted to the Secretary in making the selections — in this 
probably much larger than usual in similar cases, inasmuch 
as he was a trained soldier, of no little experience, familiar with 
the requirements of the service and the j^^rsonncl of the exist- 
ing army. It was understood that the appointments were to 
be filled, partly by promotion or transfer of officers already 
holding commissions in the army, and partly from civil life — 
many of the latter class being men who had given evidence of 
their fitness by services rendered as volunteers. 

"The colonels appointed to the command of the two regi- 
ments of cavalry were Edwin V. Sumner and Albert Sidney 
Johnston; the lieutenant-colonels were Joseph E. Johnston and 
Robert E. Lee; tlie majors, William H. Emory, John Sedg- 
wick, William J. Hardee, and George H. Thomas. These were 
the field officers, all chosen by selection from the army, and all 
graduates of West Point. Among the company officers are found 
the names of George B. McClellan, Thomas J. Wood, Robert S. 
Garnett, Earl Van Dorn, E. Kirby Smith, George Stoneman, 
Innis N. Palmer, Robert Ransom, David S. Stanley, J. E. B. 
Stuart, John B. Hood, Fitzhugh Lee, and others who afterward 
won distinction in either the Federal or Confederate service of 
the late war. 

" General Early, in reply to an absurd statement of the 
Count of Paris, analyzes the roster of these two cavalry regi- 
ments and shows that they contributed to the United States 
army nine major-generals, nine brigadier-generals, one inspector 
general and twelve field and staff officers — thirty-one altogether ; 
to the Confederate army five full generals, one lieutenant- 
general, six major-generals, ten brigadier-generals and two 
colonels — twenty-four in all. He very pertinently asks wheth- 



134 IHE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

er the whole army besides, as it stood at the beginning of 
the war, can present so brilliant a record as that furnished by 
Mr. Davis's appointees to the first and second cavalry ? The 
Count of Paris, seemingly under a strange misapprehension or 
ignorance of the facts, says that, in the organization of these 
regiments, ' Mr. Jefferson Davis then Secretary of War, took 
advantage of the opportunity to fill them with his creatures, to 
the exclusion of regular officers, whom lie disliked.' 

" The truth is that, as already stated, ail the field officers 
of the two regiments, and half, or more than half, of the com- 
pany officers — including every one of the names mentioned 
above — were ' regular officers.' The popular complaint against 
Mr. Davis, both as Secretary of War, and afterwards as presi- 
dent of the. Confederate States, was that he was too partial to 
West Point and military science. Perhaps the best answer to 
either or both of the two conflicting charges is to be found in 
the record which his ' creatures' have made by their actions 
in behalf of the sagacity of his selections. 

"Mr. Pierce was singularly fortunate in the choice of his 
cabinet. It furnishes the only example in our history of 
unbroken continuity, without a single change of any of its 
members, from beginning to end of his official term, and there 
is every reason to believe that unusual harmony existed, 
although as Mr. Davis has said ' there was much dissimilarity, 
if not incongruity of character,' among them. He himself had 
been elected by the Mississippi legislature to the Senate of the 
United States, and at the close of Mr. Pierce's term, on the 4tli 
of March, 1857, passed immediately from the cabinet to take 
his seat in the Senato." 

There has been]"published in the papers an interview with 
Judge Campbell, of Philadelphia, who is the only surviving 
member of Mr. Pierce's cabinet, and while his opinions are 
not alwa3's accurate or unprejudiced, yet they are of sufficient 
interest to give as follows : 



SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 135 

" Philadelphia, Pa. 

"Ex-Judge James Campbell, who was Postmaster-General in 
the cabinet of President Franklin Pierce, is living in this city, 
full of years, but hale and hearty. 

"Now that Jefferson Davis is dead, ex-Judge Camj)bell is the 
only surviving member of the little company of statesmen who 
helped the nation's Chief Magistrate to steer the ship of State 
through the dangerous rocks and shoals of the troublous times 
before the war. Ominous rumblings of the awful political 
storm that was to come so near wrecking the Union had 
already been heard. The weather-wise foresaw that sooner or 
later the good ship would have to succumb to the»great rock 
of slavery and the shrine of State rights, but the politicians of 
that day managed to stave off the peril for a while, 

"It was in these perilous times, when the air of the capitol 
was full of the preliminary mutterings of the cyclone, that Mr 
Campbell first met Jefferson Davis, in the official family of 
President Pierce — Mr. Campbell as Postmaster-General and 
Mr. Davis as Secretary of War. The two men — alike only in 
that they were Democrats, but differing in all else — became 
intimate friends, soon to be separated and to become foes, the 
one to lead the fight under the banner of secession and the 
other to stand by the old flag of the Union. 

"But ex-Judge Campbell had the kindliest feeling for his old 
associate — the bitterness of the rebellion has long died out — 
and he likes to talk with affectionate respect of his distin- 
guished colleague who has just departed. I found the veteran 
Pennsylvania Democrat and retired lawyer at his old-fashioned 
office on Sixth street to-day, and he courteously consented to 
tell me something about Mr. Davis. 

"Yes," said ex-Judge Campbell, "I knew Jefferson Davis 
well. I may say I was intimately associated with him from 
1853 to 1857, during the administration of President Pierce, 
when we were both in the cabinet together, he as Secretary of 



136 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

War and I as Postmaster-General. But I had not seen liim 
for years before his death, and all my recollections of him date 
back to a time before you were born. 

"I first made Davis's acquaintance in March, 1853, when 
we entered the cabinet together, and our association soon 
became personal as well as official, for — although I was a 
Northern man and he a Southern, and he was an older man 
than I — he seemed to take a fancy to me, while I respected 
and admired him. Our relations were always pleasant, and 
we were together from the beginning to the end of President 
Pierce's term. 

"General Pierce's cabinet was peculiar in more ways tlian 
one. It was the only cabinet in the history of the country 
that remained intact throughout the entire presidential term, 
and it was singularly harmonious. "VVe had the entire confi- 
dence of the President and he had ours, and he trusted more 
to his cabinet officers than any President has done since. The 
cabinet nowadays seems to be a mere corps of clerks who record 
the President's wishes. Pierce's cabinet officers worked together 
for four years without the slightest difficulty or dissension." 

The veteran lawyer pointed to a group of small engraved 
portraits hanging on the wall behmd his desk. They were 
the pictures of his associates in Pierce's cabinet. The strong 
heads and faces of William L. Marcy, the Secretary of State, 
and of Caleb Gushing, the Attorney-General, were most con- 
spicuous. Mr. Davis was represented as a man of forty-five, 
with a determined, serious, thoughtful face and a fine head. 
The picture bears little resemblance to him in later years. 

" How did Mr. Davis impress me ? Well, as a firm, unyield- 
ing man, of strong attachments, politically and personally, and 
equally strong in his dislikes. I believe Davis was a consci- 
entious, earnest man. I am sure that he always meant to be 
in the rijiht. 



SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 137 

" He was unquestionably an able man and a leader, and 
there always seemed to be something of the soldier about him 
— the result of inheritance probably, for his father had been a 
soldier, and of his military education and experience. His 
tastes lay in that direction, and he was in a congenial place as 
Secretary of War. Most of his nearest personal friends in 
Washington were army men. 

" I know that Jefferson Davis is not popularly known as a 
social, genial man, but he was, as I came to know him. But 
he was not much of a diner out, or anything of that sort. He 
was very quiet and domestic in his habits and correct in his 
private life, and was exceedingly temperate both in eating and 
drinking. These abstemious habits he must have kept up all 
his life, or he never could have lived to be eighty-one years of age. 

"Jefferson Davis was one of the best educated men whom I 
ever came in contact with. His acquirements were broad and 
often surprised us. Caleb Gushing, who was in the cabinet 
with us, was one of the most highly cultured men of his time, 
as all the world knows. He was famous for his retentive 
memory and an extent and range of knowledge that was 
encyclopsedic. President Jeff. Davis wasn't far behind Gushing, 
and that is saying a great deal. 

" As an instance, I remember on one occasion we were talk- 
ing about a certain medicine. Mr. Davis went into a minute 
analysis and scientific description of its nature and effects, and 
seemed to know as much about it as though he were an edu- 
cated physician who had made a special study of the subject. 

" When he had finished I asked : — ' For Heaven's sake, Davis, 
where did you learn all that ?' 

"'Judge,' he replied, 'you forget that I have had to learn 
something of medicine so as to take care of the negroes on my 
plantation.' 

" Davis was a reading man, especially upon historical sub- 
jects. He was particularly interested in the political history 



138 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

of his country, and I think there have been few men Vv^ho were 
better posted in that line than Jeff. Davis. 

" In politics he was one of the most stubborn slavery men 
whom I ever met. 

"He was a political disciple of Calhoun in all his most 
extreme States' Rights views. And although I could not agree 
with Mr. Davis on this point, and it was a time of intense 
partisanship and the bitterest feelings, which were soon to 
break out in secession and civil war, we never had an unplea- 
sant dispute. Yet we always talked with great freedom. 
Davis and other Southern leaders, and especially the Senators 
from the Southern States with whom I was brought into 
constant official intercourse, talked with me with more frank- 
ness than tolmostlNorthern men, I suppose because I was the 
son-in law of an Alabama slave-holder. In those days North- 
ern and Southern democrats alike felt that there would be 
great trouble in the country if Fremont was elected. Every- 
thing that the influence of the administration could do to turn 
the tide in favor of Buchanan was done. I went into the fight 
as earnestly as anybody, because I feared for the future." 

But the reader will prefer to have Mr. Davis's own brief and 
modest account of his administration of the War Department, 
which he at first positively declined, but which he finally 
accepted at the earnest solicitation of President Pierce and the 
friends of the administration. 

In his *' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," he 
says : 

"While in the Senate I had advocated the construction of 
a railway to connect the valley of the Mississippi with the 
Pacific coast ; and, when an appropriation was made to deter- 
mine the most eligible route for that jourpose, the Secretary of 
War was charged with its application. We had then but little 
of that minute and accurate knowledge of the interior of the 
continent which was requisite for a determination of the pro- 



SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 139 

blem. Several different parties were therefore organized to 
examine the various routes supposed to be practicable within 
the northern and southern limits of the United States. The 
arguments which I had used as a senator were 'the military 
necessity for such means of transportation and the need of safe 
and rapid communication with the Pacific slope, to secure its 
continuance as a part of the Union.' 

"In the organization and equipment of these parties, and in 
the selection of their officers, care was taken to provide for secur- 
ing full and accurate information upon every point -involved 
in the determination of the route. The only discrimination 
made was in the more prompt and thorough equipment of the 
parties for the extreme northern line, and it was only because 
that was supposed to be the most difficult, of execution of all 
the surveys. 

" In like manner, my advocacy while in the Senate of an 
extension of the capitol, by the construction of a new Senate 
chamber and hall of Representa<^ives, may have caused the 
appropriation for that object to be put under my charge as 
Secretary of vVar. 

" During my administration of the War Department, mate- 
rial changes were made in the models of arms. Iron gun- 
carriages were introduced and experiments were made which 
led to the casting of heavy guns hollow, instead of boring 
them after casting. Inquiries were made with regard to gun- 
powder, which subsequently led to the use of a coarser grain 
for artillery. 

" During the same period the army was increased by the 
addition of two regiments of infantry and two of cavalry. 
The officers of these regiments were chosen partly by selection 
from those already in service in the regular army and partly 
by appointment from civil life. In making the selections from 
the army, I was continually indebted to the assistance of that 
pure-minded and accurately informed officer, Colonel Samuel 



140 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. ' 

Cooper, the Adjutant-General, of whom it may be proper here 
to say that, although his life had been spent in the army, and 
he, of course, had the likes and dislikes inseparable from men 
who are brought into close contact and occasional rivalry, I 
never found in his official recommendations any indication of 
partiality or prejudice toward any one. 

"When the first list was made out, to be submitted to the 
President, a difficulty was found to exist, which had not 
occurred either to Colonel Cooper or myself. This was, that 
the officers selected purely on their military record did not 
constitute a roster conforming to that distribution among the 
different States, which, for political considerations, it was 
thought desirable to observe — that is to say, the number of 
such officers of Southern birth was found to be disproportion- 
ately great. Under instructions from the President, the list 
was therefore revised and modified in accordance with this 
new element of geographical distribution. This, as I am 
happy to remember, was the only occasion in which the cur- 
rent of my official action, while Secretary of War, was dis- 
turbed in any way by sectional or political considerations. 

"Under former administrations of the War Office it had not 
been customary to make removals or appointments upon politi- 
cal grounds, except in the case of clerkships. To this usage I 
not only adhered, but extended it to include the clerkships 
also. The chief clerk, who had been removed by my prede- 
cessor, had 2;)eculiar qualifications for the place; and, although 
known to me only officially, he was restored to the position. 
It will probably be conceded by all who are well informed on 
the subject that his restoration was a benefit to the public ser- 
vice.* 

" *Soon after my entrance upon duty as Secretary of War, General Jesup, the Quarter- 
master-General, presented to me a list of names from which to make selection of a clerk for 
his department. Observing that he had attached certain figures to these names, I asked 
wliether the figures were intended to indicate the relative qualifications, or preference in 
his estimation, of the several applicants; and, upon his answer in the affirmative, without 
further question, authorized him to appoint ' No. 1 ' of his list. A day or two afterward, cer- 



SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 141 

" [The reader desirous of further information relative to the 
administration of the War Department during this period may 
find it in the various official reports and estimates of works o^ 
defense prosecuted or recommended, arsenals of construction 
and depots of arms maintained or suggested, and foundries 
employed, during the presidenc}'' of Mr. Pierce, 1853-57.] 

"Having been again elected by the Legislature of Missis- 
sippi as Senator to the United States, I passed from the Cabi- 
net of Mr. Pierce, on the last day of his term (March 4, 1857), 
to take my seat in the Senate. 

"The administration of Franklin Pierce presents the only 
instance in our history of the continuance of a cabinet for four 
years without a single change in its personnel. When it is 
remembered that there was much dissimilarity if not incon- 
gruity of character among the menbers of that cabinet, some 
idea may be formed of the power over men possessed and exer- 
cised by Mr. Pierce. Chivalrous, generous, amiable, true to 
his friends and to his faith, frank and bold in the declaration 
of his opinions, he never deceived any one. And, if treachery 
had ever come near him, it would have stood abashed in the 
presence of his truth, his manliness, and his confiding simpli- 
city." 

tain Democratic members of Congress called on me and politely inquired whether it was 
true that I had appointed a Whig to a position in the War Office. ' Certainly not, * I 
answered. 'We thought you were not aware of it, • said they, and proceeded to inform me 
that Mr. , the recent apnointcc to the clerkship just mentioned, was a Whig. After listen- 
ing patiently to this statement, I answered that it was they who were deceived, not I. I had 
appointed a clerk. He had been appointed neither as a Whig nor a Democrat, but merely as 
the fittest candidate for the place in the estimation of the chief of the bureau to which it 
belonged. I further gave them to understand that the same principle of selection would be 
followed in similar cases, so far as my authority extended. After some further discussion of 
the question, the visitors withdrew', dissatisfied with the result of the interview. 

"The Quartermaster-General, on hearing of this conversation, hastened to inform me thai 
it was all a mistake— that the appointee to the oflice had been confounded with his father, 
who was a well-known Whig, but that he (the son) was a Democrat. 1 assured the General 
that this was altogether imm.aterial, adding that it was ' a very pretty quarrel- as it stood, 
and I had no desire to efiect a settlement of it on any inferior issue. Thenceforward, how 
ever, I was but little troubled with any pressure for political appointments In the depart- 
ment. " ' 



142 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

It were well for the efficiency of the War Department if the 
principles of administration laid down by the greatest War 
Secretary the United States ever had were now carried out, and 
that clerks and other appointees were selected with reference to 
merit and efficiency, and not with reference to partisan service or 
capability. And if this same principle had been applied to 
heads of the department as well, we should not have had the 
recent disgraceful exhibition of a partisan Secretary refusing to 
render the customary honor to the grand old man who had 
done the War Department and the country such signal service, 
who had borne the "stars and stripes" on many a victorious 
field, and whose name will shine on the page of history long 
after that of this small partisan shall have rotted into obliv- 
ion, unless indeed it shall be remembered in connection with 
this petty display of partisan malignity. 



XL 

AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 

As we have seen, Mississippi stood ever ready to honor her 
illustrious son, and so, when on the 4th of March, 1857, his 
tenure of office as Secretar}'- of War expired with the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Pierce, he at once re-entered the Senate, to which 
he had been elected by the legislature of his State. 

On his return home he was received everywhere with the 
most enthusiastic demonstrations of respect and confidence, and 
during the summer and autumn he made — in giving to his 
constituents '-'an account of his stewardship" and outlining 
his future policy — some of the most eloquent and powerful 
speeches of his life. 

The repeal of the Missouri Compromise had been the occa- 
sion of great excitement at the North — the agitation of the 
slavery question had been kept up on platform, by the press, 
and by the pul^^it — the anti-slavery element, which crystalized 
in the "Republican" party, was evidently largely on the 
increase. Mr. Buchanan was elected with great difficulty ; and 
there were wide differences and serious dissensions in the Dem- 
ocratic party which threatened the split which came in 1860, 
and resulted in the election of a sectional President by a purely 
sectional vote. 

No statesman of his day saw wdth clearer vision the dangers 
ahead, or tried more earnestly to avert them, than Mr. Davis. 
He urged on his own people patience, forbearance, and pru- 
dence of speech and act; while, on the other hand, he ably 
maintained the doctrine of "States' Rights," and warned the 
other side that they could not go too far in their aggression 
without arousing the most determined resistance. 

[1431 



144 THE DAVIS Ml^MOltlAL VOLVME. 

He always maintained, on the one hand, that Congress had 
no legal right to legislate slavery either into or out of a State, 
and that, on the other hand, the question of slavery or free soil 
must be determined by the State after it had been properly and 
legally organized, and not by a few squatters sent into a terri- 
tory by anti-slavery societies or immigrant aid organizations. 

The following letter, written in 1852, to United States Sena- 
tor James Alfred Pearce, of Maryland, and recently published 
for the first time, very clearly expresses his views : 

" Palmyra, Miss., August 22, 1852. 

" 3Iy Dear Sir : Among the most pleasing reminiscences of 
my connection with the Senate I place my association with 3^ou, 
and first among the consolations for the train of events which 
led to my separation from that body I number your very kind 
letter. If I know myself you do me justice in supposing that 
my efforts in the session of 1850 were directed to the main- 
tenance of our constitutional rights as members of the Union, 
and that I did not sympathize with those who desired a disso- 
lution of the Union. After my return to Mississippi in 1851 
I took ground against the policy of secession and drew the 
resolution adopted by the Democratic States' Rights Conven- 
tion of June, 1851, which declared that secession was the last 
alternative, the final remedy, and should not be resorted to 
under existing circumstances. 

" I thought the State should solemnly set the seal of its dis- 
approbation of some of the measures of the compromise. 
AVhen a member of th United States Senate I opposed them 
because I thought them wrong and dangerous in tendency, 
andalsobecausethepeopleinevery town, and the legislature, by 
resolutions of instructions, required me to oppose them. But 
indiscreet men went too fast and too far. The public became 
alarmed, and the reaction corresponded with the action, 
extremes in both instances. 

' The most curious and suggestive feature in tlie case is the 
fact that those who were originally foremost in the movement 
were the beneficiaries of the reaction. Having by their 
extreme course created apprehension, they cried most lustily 
that the Union was in danger and saved by their exertions. 
I am, as ever, truly your friend, 

"Jeffeeson Davis.'^ 




JEFFERSON DAVIS, JR. 
Died of the Yellow Fever at Memphis; Ten». 



146 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

During the first session, after his return to the Senate, Mr. 
Davis's health was so j)recarious that he might have excused 
himself altogether from attendance, but he was often found, 
even against the advice of his physicians, not only occupying 
his seat, but ably battling for the cause of his country. 

He found himself constantly pitted against not only the 
extreme Republicans, but as well against the advocates of 
the "squatter sovereignty" theory, of which Hon. Stephen A. 
Douglas, of Illinois, was the ablest and most aggressive 
champion. 

Mr. Alfriend, in his " Life of Davis," gives the following 
interesting contrast- between these two great representatives of 
opposing theories — "the Little Giant'' of the Northwest and 
the chivalric leader of Southern Democracy : 

"Stephen A. Douglas was now in the meridian of life and 
the full maturity of his unquestionably vigorous intellectual 
powers. For twenty-five years he had been prominent in the 
arena of politics, and as a member of Congress his course had 
been so eminently politic and judicious as to make him a 
favorite With the Democracy, both North and South. To an 
unexampled degree his public life illustrated the combination 
of those characteristics of the demagogue : a fertile ingenuity, 
facile accommodation to circumstances, and wonderful gifts of 
the ad captandum species of oratory, so captivating to the popu- 
lace, which in America peculiarly constitute the attributes of 
the * rising man.' Douglas was not wanting in noble and 
attractive qualities of manhood. His courage was undoubted, 
his generosity was princely in its munificence to his personal 
friends, and he frequently manifested a lofty magnanimity. In 
his early youth, deprived of the advantages of fortune and 
j)osition, the discipline of his career was not propitious to the 
development of the higher qualities of statesmanship — with 
which, indeed, he was scantily endowed by nature. It is as 
the accomplished politician, subtle, ready, fearless, and inde- 



A GAIN IN TUB UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 147 

faiigable, that he must be remembered. In this latter charac- 
ter he was unrivaled. 

" Not less than Davis was Douglas a representative man, yet 
no two men were more essentially dissimilar, and no two lives 
ever actuated by aspirations and instincts more unlike. Doug- 
las was the representative of expediency — Davis the exponent 
of principles. In his party associations Douglas would toler- 
ate the largest latitude of individual opinion, while Davis was 
always for a policy clearly defined and unmistakable ; and 
upon a matter of vital principle, like Percy, would reluctantly 
surrender even the 'ninth part of a hair.' To maintain the 
united action of the Democratic party on election day, to de- 
feat its opponents, to secure the rewards of success Douglas 
would allow a thousand different constructions of the party 
creed by as many factions. Davis, on the other hand, would, 
and eventually did, approve the dissolution of the party, when 
it refused an open, manly enunciation of its faith. For mere 
party success Douglas cared every thing, and Davis nothing, 
save as it insured the triumph of constitutional principles. 
Both loved the Union and sought its perpetuity, but by differ- 
ent methods ; Douglas by never-ending compromises of a quar- 
rel, which he should have known that the North would neyer 
permit to be amicably settled ; by staving off and ignoring 
issues which were to be solved only by being squarely met. 
Davis, too, was not unwilling to compromise, but he wearied 
of perpetual concession by the South, in the meanwhile the 
North continuing its hostility, both open and insidious, and 
urged a settlement of all differences upon a basis of simple and 
exact justice to both sections. 

" Douglas was pre-eminently the representative politician of 
his section, and throughout his career was a favorite with that 
boastful, bloated, and mongrel element, which is violently 
called the 'American people,' and which is the ruling element 
in elections in the Northern cities. In character and conduct 



148 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

he embodied many of its materialistic and socialistic ideas, its 
false conception of liberty, its pernicious dogmas of equality, 
and not a little of its rowdyisiii. 

" Davis was the champion of the South, her civilization, 
rights, honor, and dignity. He was the fitting and adequate 
exponent of a civilization which rested upon an intellectual 
and aesthetical development, upon lofty and generous senti- 
ments of manhood, a dignified conversatism, and the proud 
associations of ancestral distinction in the history of the Union. 
Always the senator in the sense of the ideal of dignity and 
courtesy which is suggested by that title, he was also the gen- 
tleman upon all occasions ; never condescending to flatter or 
soothe the mob, or to court popular favor, he lost none of that 
polished and distinguished manner, in the presence of a ' fierce 
Domocracie,' which made him the ornament of the highest 
school of oratory and statesmanship of his country. 

" The ambition of Douglas was unbounded. Tlie recognized 
leader, for several years, of the Northern Democracy, his many 
fine personal qualities and courageous resistance to the ultra 
abolitionists, secured for him a considerable number of sup- 
porters in the southern wing of that party. The presidency 
was the goal of his ambition, and for twenty years his course 
had been sedulously adjusted to the attainment of that most 
coveted of prizes to the American politician. On repeated 
occasions he had been flattered by a highly complimentary 
vote in the nominating conventions of the Democrac3^ Hith- 
erto he had been compelled to yield his pretensions in favor of 
older members of his party or upon considerations of tempo- 
rary availability. It was evident, however, that in order to be 
President, he must secure the nomination in 1860. The con- 
tinued ascendancy of the Democracy was no longer, as here- 
tofore, a foregone conclusion, and, besides, there were others 
equally aspiring and available. His presidential aspirations 
appeared, indeed, to be without hope or resource, save through 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 149 

the agency of some adroit coup d'etat, by which the truculent 
and dominant free-soil sentiment of the North, which he had 
so much affronted by his bid for Southern support in the 
introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, could be conciliated. 
In Illinois, his own State, the abolition strength was alarm- 
ingly on the increase, and to secure his return to the Senate 
at the election to be held in 1858, an object of prime impor- 
tance in the promotion of his more ambitious pretensions, he 
did not scruple to assume a position, falsifying his previous 
record, wantonly insulting and defiant to his Southern asso- 
ciates, and in bold antagonism to a Democratic administration. 
The sequel of this rash and ill-judged course was the over- 
throw of his own political fortunes, the disintegration of his 
party, and the attempted dissolution of the Union. 

"The earliest recommendations of Mr. Buchanan, respect- 
ing the Kansas controversy, which, several months since, had 
developed in that territory into a species of predatory warfare, 
marked by deeds of violence and atrocity, between the aboli- 
tion and pro-slavery parties, were signalized by a coalition of 
the followers of Douglas with the abolitionists and other oppo- 
nents of the administration. The speedy pacification of the 
disorders in Kansas, by the prompt admission of that territory, 
was the condition essential to the success of Mr. Buchanan's 
entire policy. He accordingly recommended the admission of 
Kansas into the Union, with the 'Lecompton' constitution, 
which had been adopted in September, 1857, by the decisive 
vote of six thousand two hundred and twenty-six in favor of 
that constitution, with slavery, and five hundred and nine for 
it, without slavery. A rival instrument, adopted by an elec- 
tion notoriously held exclusively under the control of aboli- 
tionists, prohibiting slavery, was likewise presented. 

" For months the controversy was waged in Congress between 
the friends of the administration and its enemies, and finally 
resulted in a practical triumph of the free-soil principle. The 



150 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

anti-LecomiDton coalition of Douglas and the abolitionists, 
aided by the defection of a few Southern members, success- 
fully embarrassed the policy of the administration by defeat- 
ing its recommendations, and eventually carried a measure 
acceptable to Northern sentiments and interests. 

"Mr. Douglas thus triumphed over a Democratic adminis- 
tration, at the same time giving a shock to the unity of the 
Democratic party, from which it has never recovered, and 
effectually neutralized its power as a breakwater of the Union 
against the waves of sectional dispute. The alienation between 
himself and his former associates was destined never to be 
adjusted, as indeed it never should have been, in consideration 
of his inexcusable recreancy to the immemorial faith of his 
party. Mr. Douglas simply abandoned the South, at the very 
first moment when his aid was seriously demanded. Nay, 
more; he carried with him a quiver of Parthian arrows, which 
he discharged into her bosom at a most critical moment in her 
unequal contest. 

" It is not to be denied that Mr. Douglas's new interpretation 
of the Kansas-Nebraska act was urged by himself and his 
advocates as having a merit not to be overlooked by the North, 
in its suggestion of a method of restricting slavery, presenting 
superior advantages. ' Squatter sovereignty, ' as advocated by 
Mr. Douglas, proposing the decision of the slavery question by 
the people of the territories, while yet unprepared to ask 
admission as States, was far more effectual in its plans against 
slavery, and only less prompt and open, than the designs of 
abolitionists. It would enable tlie ' Emigrant Aid Societies, ' 
and imported janizaries of abolition, to exclude the institutions 
of the South from the territories, the joint possessions of the 
two sections, acquired by an enormously disproportionate sac- 
rifice on the part of the South, with a certainty not to be 
realized, for years to come, perhaps, from the abolition policy 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE, 151 

of congressional prohibition.* According to Mr, Douglas's 
theory, the existence of slavery in all the territories was to 
depend upon the verdict of a few hundred settlers or squat- 
ters ' upon the public lands. It practically conceded to North- 
ern interests and ideas every State to be hereafter admitted, 
and under the operation of such a policy it was not difficult to 
anticipate the fate of slaver}^ at last even in the States. 

" From the inception of this controversy until its close, Mr. 
Davis was fully committed to the policy of Mr. Buchanan, and 
his position was in perfect harmony with that of all the lead- 
ing statesmen of the South. Less prominent, perhaps, in 
debate, from his constant ill-health during the first session, 
than at any other period of his public life, he was still zealous 
and influential" ... . ... 

" Among his numerous contests with the distinguished expo- 
nents of the sentiment in opposition to the Souiii, none are 
more memorable than his collisions with Douglas. 

" Of these the most striking occurred on the 23d of Febru- 
ary, 1859, and on the 16th and 17th of May, 1860. To have 
matched Douglas with an ordinary contestant, must always 
have resulted in disaster; it would have been to renew the 
contest of Athelstane against Ivanhoe. Douglas was accus- 
tomed to testify, cheerfully, to the power of Davis, as evinced 
in their senatorial struggles ; and it is very certain that at no 
other hands did he fare so badly, unless an exception be made 
in favor of the remarkable speech of Senator Benjamin, of 
Louisiana. The latter was an adept in the strategy of debate, 
a parliamentary Suchet. 

" The 23d of February, 1859, was the occasion of a pro- 
tracted battle between Davis and Douglas, la-sting from mid- 
day until nearly night. This speech of ]\Ir. Davis is, in many 
respects, inferior to his higher oratorical efforts, realizing less 
of the forms of oratory which he usually illustrated so happily, 

" *(iovemor Wise, of Virginia, characterized ' squatter sovereignty ' as a ' short cut to all 
the ends of Black Republicanism." 



152 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

and is wanting somewhat in that symmetry, harmony and 
comeliness in all its features, with which his senatorial efforts 
are generally wrought to the perfection of expression. The 
circumstances under which it was delivered, however, fully 
meet this criticism, and show a most remarkable readiness for 
the instantaneous and hurried grapple of debate, and this lat- 
ter quality was the strong point of Douglas's oratory. The 
latter had replied at great length, and with evident prepara- 
tion, to a speech made by Mr. Davis's colleague (Mr, Brown), 
who was not present during Douglas's rejoinder. Without 
hesitation Mr. Davis assumed the place of his absent colleague, 
and the result was a running debate, lasting several hours, and 
exhibiting on both sides all the vivacious readiness of a gladia- 
torial combat. 

*' In their ordinary and characteristic speeches there was an 
antithesis, no less marked than in their characters as men. 
Douglas was peculiarly American in his style of speaking. He 
dealt largely in the argumentivm ad homincm ; was very adroit 
in pointing out immaterial inconsistencies in his antagonists ; 
he rarely discussed general principles ; always avoided ques- 
tions of abstract political science, and struggled to force the 
entire question into juxtaposition with the practical considera- 
tions of the immediate present. 

" In nearly all of Davis's speeches is recognized the perva- 
sion of intellect, which is preserved even in his most impas- 
sioned passages. He goes to the very ' foundations of jurispru- 
dence,' illustrates by historical example, and throws upon his 
subject the full radiance of that noble light which is shed by 
diligent inquiry into the abstract truths of political and moral 
science. Strength, animation, energy without vehemence, 
classical elegance, and a luminous simplicity, are features in 
Mr. Davis's oratory which rendered him one of the most fin- 
islied, logical, and effective of contemporary parliamentary 
speakers." 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 153 

In the summer of 1858, Mr. Davis, in quest of health, visited 
a number of points at the North — sojourning for some time at 
Portland, Maine — and made several speeches which so well 
expressed his views that we quote freely from two of them. 

The Eastern Argus, of Portland, Maine, gave the following 
report of his reception and speech in that city ; 

" We are gratified in being able to offer our readers a faith- 
ful and quite full report of the speech of Hon. Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi, on the occasion of the serenade given him by 
the citizens of Portland, without distinction of party, on Friday 
evening last. It wdll be read with interest and pleasure, and 
we cannot doubt that every sentiment uttered by the distin- 
guished Mississippian will find a hearty response and ap- 
proval from the citizens of Maine. The occasion was indeed a 
pleasing, a hopeful one. It was in every respect the expres- 
sion of generous sentiments, of kindness, hospitality, friendly 
regard, and the brotherhood of American citizenship. Promi- 
nent men of all parties were present, and the expression, 
without exception, so far as we have heard, has been that of 
unmingled gratification ; and the scene was equally pleasant 
to look upon. The beautiful mansion of Rensallcer Cram, 
Esq.,, directly opposite to Madame Blanchard's, was illuminated, 
and the light thrown from the windows of the two houses 
revealed to view the large and perfectly orderly assemblage 
with w^hich Park and Danforth streets were crowded. We 
regret that our readers can get no idea of the musical voice and 
inspiring eloquence of the speaker from a report of his remarks, 
but it is the best we can do for them. After the music had 
ceased, Mr. Davis appeared upon the steps, and as soon as the 
jDrolonged applause with which he was greeted had subsided, 
he spoke in substance as follows : 

" * Fellow-citizens : Accept my sincere thanks for this mani- 
festation of your kindness. Vanity does not lead me so far to 



15 1 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

misconceive your purpose as to appropriate the demonstration 
to myself; but it is not the less gratifying to me to be made 
the medium through which Maine tenders an expression of 
regard to her sister, Mississippi. It is, moreover, with feelings 
of profound gratification that I witness this indication of that 
national sentiment and fraternity which made us, and which 
alone can keep us, one people. At a period but as yesterday, 
when compared with the life of nations, these States were sep- 
arate, and, in some respects, opposing colonies, their only rela- 
tion to each other was that of a common allegiance to the 
Government of Great Britain.. So separate, indeed almost 
hostile, was their attitude, that when General Stark, of Benning- 
ton memor}^ was captured by savages on the headwaters of the 
Kennebec, he was subsequently taken by them to Albany, 
where they went to sell furs, and again led away a captive, 
without interference on the part of the inhabitants of that 
neighboring colony to demand or obtain his release. United 
as we now are, were a citizen of the United States, as an act of 
hostility to our country, imprisoned or slain in any quarter of 
the world, whether on land or sea, the people of each and every 
State of the Union, with one heart and with one voice would 
demand redress, and woe be to him against whom a brother's 
blood cried to us from the ground. Such is the fruit of the wis- 
dom and the justice with which our fathers bound contending 
colonies into confederation, and blended different habits and 
rival interests into a harmonious whole, so that, shoulder to 
shoulder, they entered on the trial of the revolution, and step 
with step trod its thorny paths until they reached the height 
of national independence, and founded the constitutional rep- 
resentative liberty which is our birthright. 

" ' When the mother country entered upon her career of 
oppression, in disregard of chartered and constitutional rights, 
our forefathers did not stop to measure the exact weight of the 
burden, or to ask whether the pressure bore most upon this 



AOAL^ IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 155 

colony or upon that, but saw in it the infraction of a great 
principle, the denial of a common right, in defense of which 
they made common cause — Massachusetts, Virginia, and South 
Carolina vieing with each other as to who should be foremost 
in the struggle, where the penalty of failure would be a dis- 
honorable grave. Tempered by the trials and sacrifices of the 
Revolution, dignified by its noble purposes, elevated by its 
brilliant triumphs, endeared to each other by its glorious mem- 
ories, they abandoned the confederacy, not to fly apart when 
the outward pressure of hostile fleets and armies were removed, 
but to draw closer their embrace in the formation of a more 
perfect Union. 

"'By such men, thus trained and ennobled, our Constitution 
was framed. It stands a monument of principle, of forecast, 
and, above all, of that liberality which made each willing to 
sacrifice local interest, individual predjudice, or temporary 
good to the general welfare and the perpetuity of the republi- 
can institutions which they had passed through fire and blood 
to secure. The grants were as broad as were necessary for the 
functions of the general agent, and the mutual concessions 
were twice blessed, blessing him who gave and him who 
received. Whatever was necessary for domestic government — 
requisite in the social organization of each community — was 
retained by the States and the people thereof; and these it was 
made the duty of all to defend and maintain. Such, in very 
general terms, is the rich political legacy of our fathers 
bequeathed to us. Shall we jireserve and transmit it to pos- 
terity? Yes, yes, the heart responds; and the judgment 
answers, the task is easily 2:>erformed. It but requires that 
each should attend to that which most concerns him, and on 
which alone he has rightful power to decide and to act; that 
each should adhere to the terms of a written compact, and that 
all should co-operate for that which interest, duty, and honor 
demand. 



156 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"'For the general affairs of our country, both foreign and 
domestic, we have a national executive and a national legisla- 
ture. Representatives and Senators are chosen by districts 
and by States, but their acts affect the whole country, and 
their obligations are to the whole people. He who, holding 
either seat, would confine his investigations to the mere inte- 
rests of his immediate constituents, would be derelict to his 
plain duty; and he who would legislate in hostility to any 
section, would be morally unfit for the station, and surely an 
unsafe depository, if not a treacherous guardian, of the inheri- 
tance with which we are blessed. No one more than myself 
recognizes the binding force of the allegiance which the citizen 
owes to the State of his citizenship but that State being 
party to our compact, a member of the Union, fealty to the 
Federal constitution is not in opposition to, but flows from the 
allegiance due to one of the United States; Washington was 
not less a Virginian when he commanded at Boston, nor did 
Gates or Green weaken the bonds which bound them to their 
several States by their campaigns in the South. In propor- 
tion as a citizen loves his own State, will he strive to honor by 
preserving her name and her fame free from the tarnish of 
having failed to observe her obligations and to fulfill her 
duties to her sister States. Each page of our history is illus- 
trated by the names and deeds of those who have well under- 
stood and discharged the obligation. Have we so degene- 
rated that we can no longer emulate their virtues ? Have 
the purposes for which our Union was formed lost theit 
value ? Has patriotism ceased to be a virtue, and is narrow 
sectionalism no longer to be counted a crime? Shall the 
North not rejoice that the progress of agriculture in the South 
has given to her great staple the controlling influence of the 
commerce of the world, and put manufacturing nations under 
bond to keep the peace with the United States? Shall the 
South not exult in the fact that the industry and persevering 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. If;? 

intelligence of the North has placed her mechanical skill in 
the front ranks of the civilized world — that our mother country, 
whose haughty minister, some eighty odd years ago, declared 
that not a hob-nail should be made in the colonies, which are 
now the United States, was brought, some four years ago, to 
recognize our pre-eminence by sending a commission to exam- 
ine our workshops and our machinery, to perfect their own 
manufacture of the arms requisite for their defense? Do not 
our whole people, interior and seaboard, North, South, East 
and West, alike feel proud of the hardihood, enterprise, the 
skill and the courage of the Yankee sailor, who has borne our 
flag far as the ocean bears its foam, and caused the name and 
character of the United States to be known and respected 
wherever there is wealth enough to woo commerce and intelli- 
gence to honor merit ? So long as we preserve and appreciate 
the achievements of Jefferson and Adams, of Franklin and 
Madison, of Hamilton, of Hancock, and of Rutledge, men who 
labored for the whole country, and lived for mankind, we can 
not sink to the petty strife which would sap the foundations 
and destroy the political fabric our fathers erected and 
bequeathed as an inheritance to our posterity forever. 

"'Since the formation of the constitution a vast extension 
of territory, and the varied relations arising therefrom, have 
presented problems which could not have been foreseen. It is 
just cause for admiration, even wonder, that the provisions of 
the fundamental law should have been so fully adequate to all 
the wants of government, new in its organization, and new in 
many of the principles on which it was founded. Whatever 
fears may have once existed as to the consequences of terri- 
torial expansion must give way befcrc the evidence which the 
past affords. The general government, strictly confined to 
its delegated functions, and the State left in the undisturbed 
exercise of all else, we have a theory and practice which fits 
our government for immeasurable domain, and might, under 
a millenium of nations, embrace mankind. 



laS THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"'From the slope of the Atlantic our population, with cease- 
less tide has j^o^^red into the wide and fertile valley of the 
Mississippi, with eddying whirl has passed to the coast of the 
Pacific; from the West and the East the tides are rushing 
toward each other, and the mind is carried to the day when 
all the cultivable land will be inhabited, and the American 
people will sigh for more wildernesses to conquer. But there 
ia here a physico-political problem presented for our solution. 
Were it purely physical your past triumphs would leave but 
little doubt of your capacity to solve it. A community which, 
when less than twenty thousand, conceived the grand project 
of crossing the White Mountains, and unaided, save by the 
stimulus which Jeers and prophecies of failure gave, success- 
fully executed the Herculean work, might well be impatient if 
it were suggested that a physical problem was before us too 
difficult for mastery. The history of man teaches that high 
mountains and wide deserts have resisted the permanent exten- 
sion of empire, and have formed the immutable boundaries 
of States. From time to time, under some able leader, have 
the hordes of the upper plains of Asia swept over the adjacent 
country, and rolled their conquering columns over Southern 
Europe. Yet, after a lapse of a few generations, the physical 
law, to which I have referred, has- asserted its supremacy, and 
the boundaries of those States differ little now from those which 
were obtained three thousand years ago. 

"'Rome flew her conquering eagles over the then known 
world, and has now subsided into the little territory on which 
the great city was originally built. The Alps and the Pyra- 
nees have been unable to restrain imperial France; but her 
expansion was a feverish action, her advance and her retreat 
were tracked with blood, and those mountain ridges are the 
reestablished limits of her empire. Shall the Rocky Moun- 
tains prove a dividing barrier to us ? Were ours a central 
consolidated government, instead of a Union of sovereign 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 159 

States, our fate might be learned from the history of other 
nations. Thanks to the wisdom and independent spirit of our 
forefathers, this is not the case. Each State having sole charge 
of its local interests and domestic affairs, the problem, which 
to others has been insoluble, to us is made easy. Rapid, safe, 
and easy communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific 
will give co-intelligence, unity of interest, and cooperation 
among all parts of our continent-wide Republic. The net- 
work of railroads which bind the North and the South, the 
slope of the Atlantic and the valley of the Mississippi, together 
testify that our people have the j)ower to perform, in that re- 
gard, whatever it is their will to do. 

" '\Ye require a railroad to the States of the Pacific for pres- 
ent uses; the time no doubt will come when we shall have 
need of two or three, it may be more. Because of the desert 
character of the interior country the work will be difficult and 
expensive. It will require the efforts of a united j)eople. The 
bickerings of little politicians, the jealousies of sections must 
give way to dignity of purpose and zeal for the common good. 
If the object be obstructed by contention and division as to 
whether the route shall be Northern, Southern, or Central, the 
handwriting is on the wall, and it requires little skill to see 
that failure is the interpretation of the inscription. You are 
practical people, and may ask. How is that contest to be 
avoided? By taking the question out of the hands of poli- 
ticians altogether. Let the Government give such aid as it 
is proper for it to render to the company which shall propose 
the most feasible plan; then leave to capitalists wnth judgment, 
sharpened by interest, the selection of the route, and the diflfl- 
culties will diminish, as did those which you overcame when 
you connected your harbor with the Canadian provinces. 

"'It would be to trespass on your kindness and to violate the 
proprieties of the occasion were I to detain the vast concourse 
which stands before me by entering on the discussion of con- 



IGO THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

troverted topics, or by further indulging in the expression of 
such reflections as circumstances suggest. I came to your city 
in Cj[uest of health and repose. From the moment T entered it 
you have showered upon me kindness and hospitality. Though 
my experience has taught me to anticipate good ratlier than 
evil from my fellow-man, it had not prepared me to expect 
such unremitting attention as has here been bestowed. I 
have been jocularly asked in relation tol my coming here, 
whether I had secured a guarantee for my safet}^ and lo! I 
have found it, I stand in the midst of thousands of my fel- 
low-citizens. But, my friends, I came neither distrusting nor 
apprehensive, of which you have proof in the fact that I 
brought wdth me the objects of tenderest affection and solici- 
tude, my wife and children; they have shared with me your 
liospitality, and, will alike remain your debtors. If, at some 
future time, when I am mingled with the dust, and the arm 
of my infant son has been nerved for deeds of manhood, the 
storm of war should burst upon your city, I feel that relying 
upon his inheriting the instincts of his ancestors and mine, I 
may pledge him in that perilous hour to stand by your side 
in the defense of your hearth-stones, and in maintaining the 
honor of a flag whose constellation, though torn and smoked in 
many a battle by sea and land, has never been stained by dis- 
honor, and will, I trust, forever fly as free as the breeze which 
unfolds it. 

"•'A stranger to you, the salubrity of your location, and the 
beauty of its scenery were not wholly unknown to me, nor 
were there wanting associations which busy memory connected 
with your people. You will pardon me for alluding to one 
whose genius shed a lustre upon all it touched, and whose 
qualities gathered about him hosts of friends wherever he was 
known. Prentiss, a native of Portland, lived from youth to 
middle age in the county of my residence ; and the inquiries 
which hav^e been made show me that the youth excited the 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. ICl 

interest wnich the greatness of the man justified, and that his 
memory thus remains a link to connect your home with mine. 
A cursory view, when passing through your town on former 
occasions, had impressed me witli the great advantages of your 
harbor, its easy entrance, its depth, and its extensive accom- 
modations for shipping. But its advantages and its faciUties, 
as they have been developed by closer inspection, have grown 
upon me, until I realize that it is no boast, but the language of 
sober truth, which, in the present state of commerce, pro- 
nounces them unequalled in any harbor of our country. 

" 'And surely no place could be more inviting to an invalid 
who sought refuge from the heat of Southern summer. Here 
waving elms offer him shaded walks, and magnificent resi- 
dences, surrounded by flowers, fill the mind with ideas of com- 
fort and rest. If, weary of constant contact with his fellow- 
men, he seeks a deeper seclusion there, in the background of 
this grand amphitheatre, lie the eternal mountains, frowning 
with brow of rock and cap of snow upon smiling fields beneath, 
and there in its recesses may be found as much wildness and 
as much of solitude as the pilgrim, weary of the cares of life, 
can desire. If he turn to the front, your capacious harbor 
studded with green islands of ever-varying light and shade 
and enlightened by all the stirring evidences of commercial 
activity, offer him the mingled charms of busy life and nature's 
calm repose. A few miles further, and he may sit upon the 
quiet shore to listen to the murmuring wave until the troubled 
spirit sinks to rest; and in the little sail that vanishes on the 
illimitable sea we find the type of the voyage which he is soon 
to take, when, his ephemeral existence closed, he embarks for 
that better state which lies beyond the grave. 

"'Richly endowed as you are by nature in all which con- 
tributes to pleasure and to usefulness, the stranger cannot j^ass 
without paying a tribute to the much which your energy has 
achieved for yourselves. Where else will one find a more 
U 



162 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME- 

happy union of magnificence and comfort? Where hetter 
arrangements to facilitate commerce? Where so much of indus- 
try with so little noise and bustle? Where, in a phrase, so 
much effected in proportion to the means employed ? We hear 
the puff of the engine, the roll of the wheel, the ring of the 
ax and the saw, but the stormy, passionate exclamation so often 
mingled with the sounds are nowhere heard. Yet neither these 
nor other things which I have mentioned, attractive though 
they be, have been to me the chief charm which I have found 
among you. Far above all these, I place the gentle kindness, 
the cordial welcome, the hearty grasp which made me feel 
truly and at once, though wandering afar, that I was still at 
home. My friends, I thank you for this additional manifes- 
tation of youi good will.'" 

On the 10th of October, 1858, 'Mr. Davis addressed an 
immense crowd at Fanueil Hall, Boston. 

At this meeting he was introduced by his old friend and 
colleague in President Pierce's Cabinet, General Caleb Cush- 
ing, of Massachusetts, who made an eloquent and earnest 
defense of the Democratic party, and then said : 

"And now, gentlemen, I have allowed myself unthinkingly 
to be carried beyond my original purpose. I return to it to 
remind you that here among us is a citizen of one of the 
Southern States, eloquent among the most eloquent in debate* 
wise among the wisest in council, and brave among the brav- 
est in the battle-field. A citizen of a Southern State who 
knows that he can associate with you, the representatives of 
the Democracy and the nationality of Massachusetts, that he 
can associate with you on equal footing with the fellow-citizens 
and common members of these United States. 

" My friends, there are those here present, and, in fact, there 
is no one here present of whom it cannot be said that, in 
memory and admiration at least, and if not in the actual fact, 
yet in proud and bounding memory, they have been able to 



A GAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 163 

tread the glorious tracks of the victorious achievements of 
Jefferson Davis on the fields of Monterey and Buena Vista, 
and all have heard or have read the accents of eloquence 
addressed by him to the Senate of the United States; and there 
is one, at least, who, from his own personal observation, can 
bear witness to the fact of the surpassing wisdom of Jefferson 
Davis in the administration of the Government of the United 
States. Such a man, fellow-citizens, you are this evening to 
hear, and to hear as a beautiful illustration of the working of 
our republican institutions of these United States, of the 
republican institutions which in our own country, our own 
republic, as in the old republics of Athens and of Rome, 
exhibit the same combinations of the highest military and 
civic qualities in the same person. It must naturally be so, 
for in a republic every citizen is a soldier, and every soldier a 
citizen. Not in these United States on the occurrence of 
foreign war is that spectacle exhibited which we have so 
recently seen in our mother-country, of the administration of 
the country going abroad begging and stealing soldiers 
throughout Europe and America. No! And while I ask you, 
my friends, to ponder this fact in relation to that disastrous 
struggle of giants which so recently occurred in our day — the 
Crimean War — I ask you whether any English gentleman, any 
member of the British House of Commons, any member of the 
British House of Peers, abandoned the ease of home, abandoned 
his easy hours at home, and went into the country among his 
friends, tenants, and fellow-countrymen, volunteering there to 
raise troops [for the service of England in that hour of her 
peril; did any such fact occur? No I But here in these 
United States we had examples, and illustrious ones, of the 
fact that men, eminent in their place in Congress, abandoned 
their stations and their honors to go among fellow-citizens of 
their own States, and their raise troops Tvith which to vindi- 
cate the honor and the flag of their country. Of such men 
was Jefferson Davis. 



164 THE DAVIS ME3I0RIAL VOLUME. 

"There is now living one military man of prominent dis- 
tinction in the public eye of England and the United States — 
I 'mean Sir Colin Campbell, now Lord Clyde of Clydesdale. 
He deserves the distinction he enjoys, for he has redeemed the 
British flag on the ensanguined, burning plains of India. He 
has restored the glory of the British name in Asia. I honor 
him, Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland are open, for 
their counties, as well as their countries, and their poets, 
orators, and statesmen, and their generals, belong to our his- 
tory as well as theirs. I will never disavow Henry V. on the 
plains of Agincourt; never Oliver Cromwell on the fields of 
Marston Moor and Naseby, never Sarsfield on the banks of 
the Boyne. The glories and honors of Sir Colin Campbell are 
the glories of the British race, and the races of Great Britain 
and Ireland, from whom we are descended. 

'•'But what gained Sir Colin Campbell the opportunity to 
achieve those glorious results in India? Remember that, and 
let us see what it was. On one of those bloody battles fought 
by the British before the fortress of Sebastopol, in the midst of 
the perils, the most perilous of all the battle-fields England 
ever encountered in Europe, in one of the bloody charges of 
the Russian cavalry, there was an officer — a man who felt and 
who possessed sufficient confidence in the troops he com- 
manded, and in the authority of liis own voice and example — 
received that charge not in the ordinary, common-place, and 
accustomed manner, by forming his troops into a hollow 
square, and thus arresting the charge, but by forming into 
two diverging lines, and thus receiving upon the rifles of his 
Highlandmen the charge of the Russian cavalry and repelling 
it. How all .England rang with the glory of that achieve- 
ment! How the general voice of England placed upon the 
brows of Sir Colin Campbell the laurels of the future mas- 
tership of victory for the arms of England ! And well they 
might do so. But who origina*ted that movement; who set 



A QAIJSr m THE UNITED ST A TES SENA TE. 165 

the example of that gallant operation — who but Colonel Jeffer- 
son Davis, of the First Mississippi regiment, on the field of 
Buena Vista? Ho was justly entitled to the applause of the 
restorer of victory to the arms of the Union. Gentlemen, in 
our country, in this day, such a man, such a master of the art 
of war, so daring in the field, such a man may not only aspire 
to the highest places in the executive government of the Union, 
but such a man may acquire what nowhere else, since the days 
of Cimon and Miltiades, of the Cincinnati and the Cornelii of 
Athens and of Ronie, has been done by the human race, the 
combination of eminent powers, of intellectual cultivation, and 
of eloquence wdth the practical qualities of a statesman and 
general. 

'•'But, gentlemen, I am again betrayed beyond my purpose. 
Sir (addressing General Davis), we welcome you to the Com- 
monwealth of ]\Iassachusetts. You may not find here the ard- 
ent skies of your own sunny South, but you will find as ardent 
hearts, as warm and generous hands to welcome you to our 
Commonwealth. AVc welcome you to the city of Boston, and 
you have already experienced how open-hearted, how generous, 
how free from all possible taint of sectional thought arc tho 
hospitality and cordiality of the city of Boston. Wo wx^lcome 
you to Faneuil Hall. ]\Iany an eloquent voice has in all times 
resounded from the walls of Faneuil Hall. It is said that no 
voice is uttered by man in this air we breathe but enters into 
that air. It continues there immortal as the portion of tho 
universe into wdiich it has passed. If it bo so, how instinct is 
Faneuil Hall with the voice of the great, good, and glorious of 
past generations, and of our own, whose voices have echoed 
through its walls, whose eloquent words have thrilled tho 
hearts of hearers, as if a pointed sword were passing them 
through and through. Here Adams aroused his countrymen 
in the War of Independence, and Webster invoked Ihcm almost 
with the dying breath of his body — invoked with that Toica 



166 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME., 

of majesty and power which he alone possessed — invoked them 
to a union between the North and South. Ay, sir, and who, 
if he were present, who from those blest abodes on high from 
which he looks down upon us would congratulate us for this 
scene. First, and above all, because his large heart would 
have appreciated the spectacle of a statesman eminent among 
the most eminent of the Southern States here addressing an 
assembly of the people in the city of Boston. Because, m the 
second place, he would have remembered that, though divided 
from you by party relations, in one of the critical hours of his 
fame and his honor, your voice was not wanting for his vindi- 
cation in the Congress of the United States. Sir, again, I say 
we welcome you to Faneuil Hall. 

"And now, my fellow-citizens, I will withdraw myself and 
present to you the Hon. Jefferson Davis." 

Mr. Davis spoke as follows : 

" Countrymen, Brethren, Democrats: Most happy am I to meet 
you, and to have received here renewed assurance — of that 
which I have so long believed — that the pulsation of the 
Democratic heart is the same in every parallel of latitude, on 
every meridian of longitude, throughout the United States. 
It required not this to confirm me in a belief I have so long 
and so happily enjoyed. Your own great statesman (the Hon. 
Caleb Cushing), who has introduced me to this assembly, has 
been too long associated with me, too nearly connected, we 
have labored too many hours, until one day ran into another, 
in the cause of our country, for me to fail to understand that 
a Massachusetts Democrat has a heart as wdde as the Union, 
and that its pulsations always beat for the liberty and happi- 
ness of his country. Neither could I be unaware that such 
was the sentiment of the Democracy of New England. For it 
was my fortune lately to serve under a President drawn from 
the neighboring State of New Hampshire, and I know that he 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 167 

spoke the language of his heart, for I learned it in four years 
of intimate relations with him, when he said he knew 'no 
North, no South, no East, no West, but sacred maintenance of 
the common bond and true devotion to the common brother- 
hood.' Never, sir, in the past history of our country, never, I 
add, in its future destiny, however bright it may be, did or 
will a man of higher and purer patriotism, a man more devo- 
ted to the common weal of his country, hold the helm of our 
great ship of state, than Franklin Pierce. 

" I have heard the resolutions read and approved by this 
meeting ; I have heard the address of your candidate for Gov- 
ernor; and these, added to the address of my old and intimate 
friend. General Gushing, bear to me fresh testimony, which I 
shall be happy to carry away with me, that the Democracy, in 
the language of your own glorious "Webster, 'still lives'; lives 
not as his great spirit did, when it hung 'twixt life and death, 
like a star upon the horizon's verge, but lives like the germ 
that is shooting upward ; like the sapling that is growing to a 
mighty tree, and I trust it may redeem Massachusetts to her 
glorious place in the Union, when she led the van of the defen- 
ders of State rights. 

" "When I see Faneuil Hall thus thronged it reminds me of 
another meeting, when it was found too small to contain the 
assembly that met here,' on the call of the people, to know 
what sliould be done in relation to the tea-tax, and when, 
Faneuil Hall being too small, they went to the old South 
Church, which still stands a monument of your early day. I 
hope the time will soon come when many Democratic meetings 
in Boston will be too large for Faneuil Hall. I am welcomed 
to this hall, so venerable for all the associations of our early 
history ; to this hall of which you are so justly proud, and the 
memories of which are part of the inheritance of every Ameri- 
can citizen ; and I felt, as I looked upon it, and remembered 
how many voices of patriotic fervor have filled it — how here 



168 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the first movement originated from which the Revolution 
sprang ; how here hcgan the system of town meetings 
and free discussion — that, though my theme was more 
humble than theirs, as befitted my humbler powers, I had 
enough to warn me that I was assuming much to speak 
in this sacred chamber. But, when I heard your distin- 
guished orator say that words utttered here could never 
die, that they liv^ed and became a part of the circumambient 
air, I feel a hesitation which increases upon me with the remem- 
brance of his expressions. But, if those voices which breathed 
the first impulse into the colonies — now the United States — to 
proclaim independence, and to unite for resistance against the 
power of the mother country — if those voices live here still, 
how must they fare who come here to preach treason to the 
constitution and to assail the union of these States? It would 
seem that their criminal hearts would fear that those voices, 
so long slumbering, would break silence, that those forms 
which hang upon these walls behind me might come forth, 
and that the sabres so long sheathed would leap from their 
scabbards to drive from this sacred temple those who desecrate 
it as did the money-changers who sold doves in the temple of 
the living God. 

" Here you have, to remind you, and to remind all who 
enter this hall, the portraits of those men who are dear to 
every lover of liberty, and part and parcel of the memory of 
every American citizen; and highest among them all I see 
you have placed Samuel Adams and John Hancock. You 
have placed them the highest, and properly ; for they were 
two, the only two, excepted from the proclamation of mercy, 
when Governor Gage issued his anathema against them and 
against their fellow-patriots. These men, thus excepted from 
the saving grace of the crown, now occupy the highest places 
in Faneuil Hall, and thus seem to be the highest in the reve- 
rence of the people of Boston. This is one of the instances in 



A GAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 169 

which we find tradition so much more reliable than history; 
for tradition has borne the name of Samuel Adams to the 
remotest of the colonies, and the new States formed out of 
what was territory of the old colonies; and there it is a name as 
sacred among us as it is among you. 

"Wc all remember how early he saw the necessity of com- 
munity INDEPENDENCE. How, through the dim mists of the 
future, and in advance of his day, he looked forward to the 
proclamation of the independence of ^Massachusetts; how he 
steadily strove, through good report and evil report, with a 
great, unwavering heart, whether in the midst of his fellow- 
citizens, cheered by their voices, or communing with his own 
heart, when driven from his hom-e, his eyes were still fixed 
upon his first, last hope, tlie community independence of Mas- 
sachusetts! Always a commanding figure, we see him, at a 
later period, the leader in the correspondence which waked the 
feelings of the other colonies to united fraternal association — 
the people of Massachusetts with the people of the other colo- 
nies — there we see his letters acknowledging the receipt of rice 
of South Carolina, and the money of New York and Pennsyl- 
vania — all these poured in to relieve Boston of the suffering 
inflicted upon her when the port was closed by the despotism 
of the British croo-n — we see the beginning of that which 
insured the co-operation of the colonies throughout the despe- 
rate struggle of the Eevolution. And we there see that which, 
if the present generation be true to the memory of their sires, 
to the memory of the noble men from whom they descended, 
will perpetuate for them that spirit of fraternity in which the 
Union began. But it is not here alone, nor in reminiscences 
connected wdth the objects which present themselves within 
this hall, that the people of Boston have much to excite their 
patriotism and carry them back to the great principles of the 
Kcvolutionary struggle. Where will you go and not meet some 
monument to inspire such sentiments? Go to Lexington and 



170 THE DAVIS ME3I0RIAL VOLUME. 

Concord, where sixty brave countrymen came with their fowl- 
ing-pieces to oppose six hundred veterans — where they forced 
those veterans back, pursuing them on the road, fighting from 
every barn, and bush, and stock, and stone, till they drove 
them, retreating, to the ships from which they went forth ! 
And there stand those monuments of your early patriotism. 
Breed's and Bunker's Hills, whose soil drank the martyr-blood 
of men who , lived for their country and died for mankind ! 
Can it be any of you should tread that soil and forget the great 
purposes for which those men died ? While, on the other side, 
rise the heights of Dorchester, wdiere once stood the encamp- 
ment of the Virginian, the man who came here, and did not 
ask. Is this a town of Virginia ? but. Is this a town of my 
brethren ? The steady courage and cautious wisdom of Wash- 
ington availed to drive the British troops out from the city 
which they had so confidently held. Here, too, you find where 
once the old Liberty Tree, connected with so many of your mem- 
ories, grew. You ask your legend, and learn that it was cut 
down for firewood by British soldiers, as some of your meet- 
ing-houses were destroyed; they burned the old tree, and it 
warmed the soldiers long enough to leave town, and, had they 
burned it a little longer, its light w'ould have shown Washing- 
ington and his follov/ers where their enemies were. 

*' But they are gone, and never again shall a hostile foot set 
its imprint upon your soil. Your harbor is being fortified, to 
prevent an unexpected attack on your city by a hostile fleet. 
But woe to the enemy whose fleet shall bear him to your shores 
to set his footprint upon your soil ; he goes to a prison or to a 
grave ! American fortifications are not built from any fear of 
invasion, they are intended to guard points where marine 
attacks can be made; and, for the rest, the hearts of Ameri- 
cans are our ramparts. 

" But, my friends, it is not merely in these associations, so 
connected with the honorable pride of Massachusetts, that 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 171 

ono wlio visits Boston finds much for gratification, hope, 
and instruction. If I were selecting a place where the advocate 
of strict construction, the extreme expounder of democratic 
State-rights doctrine should go for his texts, I would send him 
into the collections of your historical associations. Instead of 
going to Boston as a place where only consolidation would 
he found, he would find written, in letters of living light, 
that sacred creed of State rights which has heen mis- 
called the ultra opinions of the South; he could find 
among your early records that this Faneuil Hall, the pro- 
perty of the town at the time when Massachusetts was under 
colonial government, administered by a man appointed by the 
British crown, guarded by British soldiers, was refused to a 
British Governor in which to hold a British festival, because 
he was going to bring with him the agents for collecting, and 
naval ofiiccrs sent here "to enforce, an oppressive tax upon your 
Commonwealth. Such was the proud spirit of independence 
manifested even in 3'our colonial history. Such is the great 
foundation-stone on which may be erected an eternal monu- 
ment of States rights. And so, in an early period of our country, 
you find ]\Iassachusetts leading the movements, prominent of 
all the States, in the assertion of that doctrine which has been 
recently so belied. Having achieved your independence, hav- 
ing passed through the Confederation, you assented to the 
formation of our present constitutional Union. You did not 
surrender your sovereignty. Your fathers had sacrificed too 
much to claim as a reward of t'heir toil, merely that they 
should have a change of masters; and a change of masters it 
would have been had ]\Iassachusetts surrendered her State 
sovereignty to the central Government, and consented that that 
central Government should have the power to coerce a State. 
But, if this power does not exist, if this sovereignty has not 
been surrendered, then, who can deny the words of soberness 
and truth spoken by your candidate this evening, when he has 



172 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

pleaded to you the cause of State independence, and the right 
of every community to be judge of its own domestic affairs? 
This is all we have ever asked — we of the South, I mean — 
for I stand before you as one of those who have always been 
called the ultra, men of the South, and I speak, therefore, for 
that class; and I tell you that your candidate for Governor has 
uttered to-night everything which we hare claimed as a prin- 
ciple for our protection. And I have found the same condition 
of things in the neighboring State of Maine. I have found 
that the Democrats there asserted the same broad constitu- 
tional principle for which we have been contending, by which 
we are willing to live, for which w^e are willing to die! 

"In this state of the case, my friends, why is the country 
agitated ? The old controversies have passed away, or they 
have subsided, and have been covered up by one dark pall of 
somber hue, which increases with every passing year. Why 
is it, then, I say, that you are thus agitated in relation to the 
domestic affairs of other communities? Why is it that the 
peace of the country is disturbed in order that one people may 
judge of what another people may do? Is there any political 
power to authorize such interference? If so, where is it? You 
did not surrender your sovereignty. You gave to the Federal 
Government certain functions. It was your agent, created for 
specified j)urposes. It can do nothing save that wdiich you 
have given it power to perform. Where is the grant? Has it 
a right to determine what shall be property? Surely not that 
belongs to every community to decide for itself; you judge in 
your case — every other State must judge in its case. The 
Federal Government has no power to destroy property. Do 
you pay taxes, then to an agent, that he may destroy your 
property? Do you support him for that jiurpose? It is an 
absurdity on the face of it. To ask the question is to answer 
it. The Government is instituted to protect, not to destroy, 
property. And, in abundance of caution, j^our fathers pro- 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 173 

vided that the Federal Government should not take private 
property for its own use unless by making due compensation 
tlierefor. It is prohibited from attempting to destroy property. 
One of its great purposes was protection to the States. When- 
ever that power is made a source of danger, we destroy the 
purpose for which the Government was formed. 

''Why, then, have you agitators? With Pharisaical pre- 
tension it is sometimes said it is a moral obligation to agitate, 
and I suppose they are going through a sort of vicarious 
repentance for other men's sins. With all due allowance for 
their zeal, we ask, how do they decide that it is a sin? By what 
standard do they measure it? Not the constitution, the con- 
stitution recognizes the property in slaves in many forms, and 
imposes obligations in connection with that recognition. Not 
the Bible; that justifies it. Not the good of society; for, if 
they go where it exists, they find that society recognizes it as 
good. What, then, is their standard ? The good of mankind ? 
Is that seen in the diminished resources of the country ? Is 
that seen in the diminished comfort of the world? Or is not 
the reverse exhibited? Is there, in the cause of Christianity, 
a motive for the prohibition of the system which is the only 
agencj' through which Christianity has reached that infjrior 
race, the only means by which they have been civilized and 
elevated? Or is their piety manifested in denunciation of 
their brethren, who are deterred from answering their denun- 
ciation only by the contempt which they feel for a mere 
brawler, who intends to end his brawling only in empty words? 

"What, my friends, must bo the consequences? Good or 
evil? They have been evil, and evil they must be onl}'' to the 
end. Not one particle of good has been done to any man, of 
any color, by this agitation. It has been insidiously working 
the purpose of sedition, for the destruction of that Union on 
which our hopes of future greatness depend. 



174 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"On the one side, then, you see agitation tending slowly and 
steadily to that separation of States, which, if you have any 
hope connected with the liberty of mankind; if you have any 
national pride connected with making your country the greatest 
on the face of the earth; if 3^ou liave any sacred regard for the 
obligations which the deeds and the blood of your fathers en- 
tailed upon you, that hope should prompt you to reject any- 
thing that would tend to destroy the result of that experiment 
which they left it to you to conclude and perpetuate. On the 
other hand, if each community, in accordance with the prin- 
ciples of our government, should regard its domestic interests 
as a part of the common whole, and struggle for the benefit of 
all, this would steadily lead us to fraternity, to unity, to coope- 
ration, to the increase of our happiness and the extension of 
the benefits of our useful example over mankind. The flag 
of the Union, whose stars have already more than doubled 
their original number, with its ample folds may wave, the 
the recognized flag of every State, oi the -recognized protector 
of every State upon the. continent of America. 

"In connection with the view which I have presented of the 
early idea of community independence I will add the very 
striking fact that one of the colonies, about the time they had 
resolved to unite for the purpose of achieving their indepen- 
dence, addressed the Colonial Congress to know in what con- 
dition it would be in the interval between its separation from 
the government of Great Britain and the establishment of a 
government on this continent. The answer of the Colonial 
Congress was exactly what might have been expected — exactly 
what State-rights Democracy would answer to-day to such an 
inquiry — that they 'had nothing to do with it.' If such senti- 
ment had continued, if it had governed in every State, if rep- 
resentatives had been chosen upon it, then your halls of 
Federal legislation would not have been disturbed about the 
question of the domestic institutions of the different States. 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 175 

The peace of the country would not be hazarded by the arraign- 
ment of the family relations of people over whom the govern- 
ment has no control. If in harmony working together, with 
co-intelligence for the conservation of the interests of the 
country — if protection to the States and the other great ends 
for which the government was es-tablished, had been the aim 
and united effort of all — what effects would not have been 
produced? As our government increases in expansion it 
would increase in its beneficent effect upon the people ; we 
should, as we grow in power and prosperity, also grow in fra- 
ternity, and it would be no longer a wonder to see a man 
coming from a Southern State to address a Democratic audi- 
ence in Boston. 

" But I have referred to the fact that Massachusetts stood 
preeminently forward among those who asserted community 
independence ; and this reminds me of another incident. Pres- 
ident Washington visited Boston when John Hancock was 
Governor, and Hancock refused to call upon the President, 
because he contended that any man who came within the 
limits of Massachusetts must yield rank and precedence to the 
Governor of the State. He eventually only surrendered the 
point on account of his personal regard and respect for the 
character of George Washington. I honor him for this, and 
value it as one of the early testimonies in favor of State rights. 
I wish all our Governors had the same regard for the dignity 
of the State as had the great and glorious John Hancock. 

"In the beginning the founders of this government were 
true Democratic State-rights men. Democracy was State 
rights, and State rights was democracy, and it is so to-day. 
Your resolutions breathe it. The Declaration of Independence 
embodied the sentiments which had lived in the hearts of the 
country for many years before its formal assertion. Our 
fathers asserted the great principle — the right of the people to 
choose their own government — and that government rested 



17G ,: THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

upon the consent of the governed. In every form of expression 
it uttered the same idea, community independence and the de- 
pendence of the Union upon the communities of which it 
consisted. It was an American declaration of tlie unalienable 
right of man; it was a general truth, and I wish it were 
accepted by all men. But I have said that this State sover- 
eignty — this community independence — has never been sur- 
rendered, and that there is no power in the Federal govern- 
ment to coerce a State. Will any one ask me, then, how a 
State is to be held to the fulfillment of its obligations? My 
answer is, by its honor. The obligation is the more sacred to 
observe every feature of the compact, because there is no power 
to enforce it. The great error of the confederation was, that 
it attempted to act upon the States. It was found impracti- 
cable, and our present form of government was adopted, which 
acts upon individuals, and is not designed to act upon States. 
The question ot State coercion was raised in the convention 
which framed the constitution, and, after discussion, the prop- 
osition to give power to the general government to enforce 
against any State obedience to the laws was rejected. It is 
upon the ground that a State cannot be coerced that observ- 
ance of the compact is a sacred obligation. It was upon this 
principle that our fathers depended for the perpetuity of a 
fraternal Union, and for the security of the rights that the 
constitution was designed to preserve. The fugitive slave 
compact in the constitution of the United States implied that 
the States should fulfill it voluntarily. They expected the 
States to legislate so as to secure the rendition of fugitives; 
and ill 1778 it was a matter of complaint that the Spanish 
colony of Florida did not restore fugitive negroes from the 
United States who escaped into that colony, and a committee, 
composed of Hamilton, of New York, Sedgwick, of IMassa- 
chusetts, and Mason, of Virginia, reported resolutions in the 
Congress, instructing the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to 




MRS. HAYES' CHILDREN AND NURSE. 



AGAIN IN TUB UNITED STATES SENATE. 17V 

address the charge cV affaires at INIadrid to apply to his Majesty 
of Spain to issue orders to his governor to compel them to 
secure the rendition of fugitive negroes. This was the senti- 
ment of the committee, and they added, also, that the States 
would return any slaves from Florida who might escape into 
their limits. 

" When the constitutional obligation was imposed, who 
could have doubted tluit every State, faithful to its obligations, 
would comply with the requirements of the constitution, and 
waive all questions as to whether the institution should or 
should not exist in another community over which they had 
no control ? Congress was at last forced to legislate on the 
subject, and they have continued, up to a recent period, to leg- 
islate, and this has been one of the causes by which 3'ou have 
been disturbed. You have been called upon to make war 
against a law which need never to have been enacted, if each 
State had done the duty which she was called upon by the 
constitution to j^erform. 

" Gentlemen, this presents one phase of agitation — negro 
agitation, there is another and graver question, it is in relation 
to the prohibition by Congress of the introduction of slave 
property into the Territories. What power does Congress pos- 
sess in this connection? Has it the right to say what shall 
be property anywhere? If it has, from what clause of the 
constitution does it derive that power? Have other States the 
power to prescribe the condition upon which a citizen of another 
State shall enter upon and enjoy territory — common property 
of all? Clearly not. Shall the inhabitants who first go into 
the Territory deprive any citizen of the United States of those 
rights which belong to him as an equal owner of the soil? 
Certainly not. Sovereign jurisdiction can only pass to these 
inhabitants when the States, the owners of that Territory, shall 
recognize their right to become an equal member of the Union. 
12 



178 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Until then, the constitution and the laws of the Union must 
be the rule governing within the limits of a Territory. 

"The constitution recognizes all property, and gives equal 
privileges to every citizen of the States ; and it would be a vio- 
lation of its fundamental principles to attempt any discrimi- 
nation. 

"There is nothing of truth or justice with which to sustain this 
agitation, or ground for it, unless it be that it is a very good bridge 
over w^hich to pass into office ; a little stock of trade in politics 
built up to aid men who are missionaries staying at home; 
reformers of things wdiich they do not go to learn; preachers 
without a congregation ; overseers without laborers and with- 
out wages ; war-horses who snuff the battle afar off and cry : 
'Aha ! aha! I am afar off.' 

" Thus it is that the peace of the Union is disturbed ; thus it is 
that brother is arrayed against brother ; thus it is that the people 
come to consider not how they can promote each other's inter- 
ests, but how tney may successfully Tvar upon them. And 
among the things most odious to my mind is to find a man 
who enters upon a public office, under the sanction of the con- 
stitution, and taking an oath to support the constitution — the 
compact between the States binding each for the common 
defense and general welfare of the other — and retaining to 
himself a mental reservation that he wall war upon the insti- 
tutions and the property of any of the States of the Union. It is 
a crime too low to characterize as it deserves before this assem- 
bly. It is one which would disgrace a gentleman — one w^hich 
a man with self-respect would never commit. To swear that 
he will support the constitution, to take an office which be- 
longs in many of its relations to all the States, and to use it as 
a means of injuring a portion of the States of whom he is thus 
an agent, is treason to everything that is honorable in man. 
It is the base and cowardly attack of him who gains the 
confidence of another in order that he may wound him. But 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 179 

I have often heard it argued, and I have seen it published : I 
have seen a petition that was circulated for signers, announcing 
that there was an incompatibility between the different sec- 
tions of the Union ; that it had been tried long enough, and 
that they must get rid of those sections in which the curse of 
slavery existed. Ah ! those sages, so much wiser than our 
fathers, have found out that there is incompatibility in that 
which existed when the Union was formed. They have found an 
incompatibility inconsistent with union, in that which existed 
when South Carolina sent her rice to Boston, and Maryland 
and Pennsylvania and New York brought in their funds for 
her relief The fact is that, from that day to this, the differ- 
ence between the people of the colonies has been steadily 
diminishing, and the possible advantages of union in no small 
degree augmented. The variety of product of soil and of cli- 
mate has been multiplied, both by the expansion of our coun- 
try and by the introduction of new tropical products not 
cultivated at that time ; so that every motive to union which 
3'^our forefathers had, in a diversity which should give prosperity 
to the country, exists in a higher degree to-day than when this 
Union was formed, and this diversity is fundamental to the 
prosperity of the people of the several sections of the country. 

" It is, however, to-day, in sentiment and interest, less than 
on the day when the Declaration of Independence was made. 
Diversity there is — diversity of character — but it is not of that 
extreme kind which proves incompatibility; for ycur Massa- 
chusetts man, when he comes into Mississippi, adopts our opin- 
ions and our institutions, and frequently becomes the most 
extreme man among us. As our country has extended, as new 
products have been introduced into it, this Union and the free 
trade that belongs to it have been of increasing value. And I 
say, moreover, that it is not an unfortunate circumstance that 
this diversity of pursuit and character still remains. Origi- 
nally it sprang in no small degree from natural causes, Mas- 



180 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

jachusetts became a manufacturing and commercial State 
because of her fine harbors — because of her water-power, 
making its last leap into the sea, so that the ship of commerce 
brought the staple to the manufacturing power. This made 
you a commercial and a manufacturing people. In the South- 
ern States great plains interpose between the last leaps of the 
streams and the sea. Those plains were cultivated in staple 
crops, and the sea brought their products to 3'our streams to be 
manufactured. This was the first beginning of the differences. 

"Then your longer and more severe winters, your soil not 
so favorable for agriculture, in a degree kept you a manufactu- 
ring and a commercial people. Even after the cause had 
passed away — after railroads had been built — after the steam- 
engine had become a motive power for a large part of manu- 
facturing machinery, the natural causes from which your peo- 
ple obtained a manufacturing ascendency and ours became 
chiefly agriculturists continued to act in a considerable measure 
to preserve that relation. Your interest is to remain a manu- 
facturing, and ours to remain an agricultural people. Your 
prosperity, then, is to receive our staple and to manufacture it, 
and ours to sell it to you and buy the manufactured goods. 
This is an interweaving of interests which makes us all the 
richer and happier. 

"But this accursed agitation, this intermeddling with the 
affairs of other people, is that alone which will promote a 
desire in the mind of any one to separate these great and glo- 
rious States. The seeds of dissension may be sown by invi- 
dious reflections. Men may be goaded by the constant attempts 
to infringe upon rights and to disturb tranquility, and in the 
resentment which follows it is not possible to tell how far the 
wave may rush. I, therefore, plead to you now to arrest a 
fanaticism which has been evil in the beginning and must be 
evil in the end. You may not have the numerical power 
requisite, and those at a distance may not understand how 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 181 

many of you there are desirous to put a stop to the course of 
this agitation. For me, I haye learned since I haye been in 
New England the vast mass of true State-Rights Democrats to 
be found within its limits — though not represented in the halls 
of Congress. And if it comes to the worst — if, availing them- 
selves of the majority in the two Houses of Congress, they 
should attempt to trample upon the constitution; if they 
should attempt to violate the rights of the States ; if they 
should attempt to infringe uj3on our equality in the Union — 
I believe that even in Massachusetts, though it has not had a 
representative in Congress for many a day, the State-rights 
Democracy, in whose breast beats the spirit of the Revolution, 
can and will whip the black Republicans. I trust we shall 
never be thus purified, as it were, by fire, but that the peace- 
ful, progressive, revolution of the ballot-box will answer all the 
glorious purposes of the constitution and the Union. And I 
marked that the distinguished orator and statesman who pre- 
ceded me, in addressing you, used the words * national' and 
'constitutional' in such relation to each other as to show that 
in his mind the one was a synonym of the other. I say so: 
we became national by the constitution, the bond for uniting 
the States, and national and constitutional are convertible 
terms. 

" Your candidate for the high office of governor — whom I 
have been once oi twice on the point of calling governor, and 
whom I hope I may be able soon to call so — in his remarks to 
you has presented the same idea in another form. And well 
may Massachusetts orators, without even perceiving what they 
are saying, utter sentiments which lie at the foundation of your 
colonial as well as j^our subsequent political history, which 
existed in Massachusetts before the Revolution, and have 
existed ever since, whenever the true spirit which comes down 
from the Revolutionary sires has swelled and found utterance 
within her limits. 



182 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" It has heen not only, my friends, in tliis increasing and 
mutual dependence of interest that we have found new ties to 
you. These bonds are both material and mental. Every 
improvement of invention, every construction of a railroad, 
has formed a new reason for our being one. Every new 
achievement, whether it has been in arts or science, in war or 
in manufactures, has constituted for us"a new bond and a new 
sentiment holding us together. 

" Why, then, I would ask, do we see these lengthened 
shadows which follow in the course of our political history ? 
Is it because our sun is declining to the horizon? Are 
they the shadows of evening, or are they, as I hopefully believe, 
but the mists which are exhaled by the sun as it rises, but 
which are to be dispersed by its meridian glory? Are they 
but the little evanishing clouds that flit between the people 
and the great objects for which the constitution was estab- 
lislied? I hopefully look toward the reaction which will 
establish the fact that our sun is still in the ascendant — that 
that cloud which has so long covered our political horizon is 
to be dispersed — that we are not again to be divided on paral- 
lels of latitude and about the domestic institutions of States — 
a sectional attack on the prosperity and tranquility of a 
nation — but only by differences in opinion upon measures of 
expediency, upon questions of relative interest, by discussions 
as to the powers of the States and the rights of the States, and 
the powers of the Federal government — such discussion as is 
commemorated in this picture of your own great and glorious 
Webster, when he specially addressed our best, most tried, and 
greatest man, the pure and incorruptible Calhoun, represented 
as intently listening to catch the accents of eloquence that fell 
from his lips. Those giants strove each for his conviction, not 
against a section — not against each other; they stood to each 
other in the relation of personal affection and esteem, and never 



AOAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 183 

did I see Mr. Webster so agitated, never did I hear his voice 
falter, as when he delivered the eulogy on John C. Calhoun. 

''But allusion was made to my own connection with your 
great and favorite departed statesman. Of that I will only 
say on this occasion, that very early in my congressional life 
Mr. "Webster was arraigned for an offense which affected him 
most deeply. He was no accountant, and all knew that. He 
was arraigned on a pecuniary charge — the misapplication of 
what is known as the secret-service fund — and I was one of the 
committee that had to investigate the charge. I endeavored 
to do justice. I endeavored to examine the evidence with a 
view to ascertain the truth. It is true I remembered that he 
was an eminent American statesman. It is true that as an 
American I hoped he would come out without a stain upon 
his garments. But I entered upon the investigation to find 
the truth and to do justice. The result was, he was acquitted 
of every charge that was made against him, and it was equally 
my pride and my pleasure to vindicate him in every form 
which lay within my power. No one that knew Daniel Web- 
ster could have believed that he would ever ask whether a 
charge was made against a Massachusetts man or a Mississip- 
pian. No! It belonged to a lower, to a later, and I trust a 
shorter-lived race of statesmen, who measure all facts by con- 
siderations of latitude and longitude. 

"I honor that sentiment which makes us oftentimes too 
confident, and to despise too much the danger of that agita- 
tion which disturbs the peace of the country. I respect that 
feeling which regards the Union as too strong to be broken. 
But, at the same time, in sober judgment, it will not do to 
treat too lightly the danger which has existed and still exists. 
I have heard our constitution and Union compared to the 
granite shores which face the sea, and, dashing back the foam 
of the waves, stand unmoved by their fury. Now I accept the 
the simile; and I have stood upon the shore, and I have seen 



184 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the waves of the sea dash upon the granite of your own shores 
which frowns over the ocean, have seen the spray thrown 
back from the cliffs. But, when the tide had ebbed, I saw 
that the rock was seamed and worn; and when the tide was 
low, the pieces that had been riven from the granite rock were 
lying at its base, 

"And thus the waves of sectional agitation are dashing 
themselves against the granite patriotism of the land. But 
even that must show the seams and scars of the conflict. Sec- 
tional hostility will follow. The danger lies at your door, and 
it is time to arrest it. Too long have we allowed this influence 
to progress. It is time that men should go back to the first 
foundation of our institutions. They should drink the waters 
of the fountain at the source of our colonial and early histor3^ 

" You, men of Boston, go to the street where the massacre 
occurred in 1770. There you should learn how your fathers 
strove for community rights. And near the same spot you 
should learn how proudly the delegation of democracy came 
to demand the removal of the troops from Boston, and how 
the venerable -Samuel Adams stood asserting the rights of 
democracy, dauntless as Hampden, clear and eloquent as Sid- 
ney; and how they drove out the myrmidons who had tram- 
pled on the rights of the people. 

"All over our country, these monuments, instructive to the 
present generation, of what our fathers did, are to be found. 
In the library of your association for the collection of j^our 
early history, I found a letter descriptive of the reading of the 
church service to his army by General Washington,' during 
one of those winters when the army was ill-clad and without 
shoes, when he built a little log-cabin for a meeting-house, and 
there, reading the service to them his sight failed him, he 
put on his glasses, and, with emotion which manifested the 
reality of his feelings, said, 'I have grown gray in serving my 
country, and now I am going blind.' " 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 185 

"By the aid of your records you may call before you the 
day when the delegation of the army of the democracy of 
Boston demanded compliance with its requirements for the 
removal of the troops. A painfully thrilling case will be found 
in the heroic conduct of your fathers friends, the patriots in 
Charleston, South Carolina. The prisoners were put upon the 
hulks, where the small-pox existed, and where they were 
brought on shore to stay tho progress of the infection, and 
were offered, if they would enlist in his ]\Iajesty's service, 
release from all their sufferings, present and prospective; while, 
if they would not, the rations would be taken from their fam- 
ilies, and they would be sent back to the hulks and again 
exposed to tho infection. Emaciated as they were, with tho 
prospect of being returned to confinement, and their families 
turned out intothestreets, the spirit of independence, the devo- 
tion to liberty, was so supreme in their breasts that they gave 
ono loud huzza for General Washington and went to meet 
death in their loathsome prison. From these glorious recol- 
lections, from the emotions which they create, when the sacri- 
fices of those who gave you the heritage of liberty are read in 
your early history, the eyo is directed to our present condition. 
Mark the prosperity, the growth, the honorable career of your 
country under the voluntary union of independent States. I 
do not envy the heart of that American whose pulse docs not 
beat quicker, and who does not feel within him a high exulta- 
tion and pride, in the past glory and future prospects of his 
country. With these prospects are associated — if we are only 
wise, true, and faithful, if we shun sectional dissension — all 
that man can conceive of the progression of the American 
people. And the only danger which threatens those high 
prospects is that miserable spirit which, disregarding the obli- 
gations of honor, makes war upon the constitution; which 
induces men to assume powers they do not possess, trampling 
as well upon the great principles which lie at the foundation of 



186 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

the Declaration of Independence, and the constitution of the 
Union, as upon the honorable obligations which were fixed 
upon them by their fathers. They with internecine strife 
would sacrifice themselves and their brethren to a spirit which 
is a disgrace to our common country. With these views, it 
will not be surprising, to those who most differ from me, that 
I feel an ardent desire for the success of this State-rights 
democracy; that, convinced as 1 am of the ill consequences of 
the described heresies unless they be corrected; of the evils 
upon which they would precipitate the country unless they are 
restrained — I say, none need be surprised if, prompted by such 
aspirations, and impressed by such forebodings as now open 
themselves before me, I have spoken freely, yielding to motives 
I would suppress and cannot avoid. I have often, elsewhere 
than in the State of which I am a citizen, spoken in favor of 
that party which alone is national, in which alone lies the 
hope of preserving the constitution and the perpetuation of 
the government and of the blessings which it was ordained 
and established to secure. 

" My friends, m}^ brethren, my countrymen, I thank j'ou for 
the patient attention you have given me. It is the first time 
it has ever befallen me to address an audience here. It will pro- 
bably be the last. Kesiding in a remote section of the coun- 
try, with private as well as public duties to occupy the whole 
of my time, it would only be for a very hurried visit, or under 
some such necessity for a restoration to health which brought 
me here this season, that I could ever expect to remain long 
among you, or in any other j^ortion of the Union than the 
State of which. I am a citizen. 

" I have Btaid long enough to feel that generous hospitality 
which evinces itself to-night, which has evinced itself in Bos- 
ton since I have been here, and showed itself in every town 
and village of New England where I have gone. I have staid 
here, too, long enough to learn that, though not represented in 




JKFFERSO?? DAVI.9 HAYES. Age. 5 years. 
OJrandson ol Hon. Jefferson Davis. 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENATE. 187 

Congress, there is a large mass of as true democrats as are to 
be found in any portion of the Union within the limits of 
New England. Their purposes, their construction of the con- 
stitution, their hopes for the future, their respect for the past, 
is the same as that which exists among my beloved brethren 
in Mississippi. 

"In the hour of apprehension I shall turn back to ray 
observations here, in this consecrated hall, where men so early 
devoted themselves to liberty and community independence; 
and I shall endeavor to impress upon others, who know you 
only as you are represented in the two houses of Congress, how 
true and how many are the hearts that beat for constitutional 
liberty, and faithfully respect every clause and guarantee which 
the constitution contains for anyand every portion of the Union." 

His speech to an immense democratic ratification meeting 
in New York, on the 19th of October, was received with great 
enthusiasm, and, among other things, he said : 

" To each community belongs the right to decide for itself 
what institutions it will have — to each people sovereign in 
their own sphere. It belongs only to them to decide what 
shall be property. You have decided it for yourselves, Missis- 
sippi has done so. Who has the right to gainsay it? [Applause.] 
It was the assertion of the right of independence — of that very^ 
right which led your fathers into the war of the Revolution. 
[Applause.] It is that which constitutes the doctrine of State 
rights, on which it is my pleasure to stand. Congress has no 
power to determine what shall be property anywhere. Con- 
gress has only such grants as are contained in the constitution • 
and it conferred no power to rule with despotic hands over the 
independence of the Territories." 

In reply to an invitation to attend the " Webster Birthday 
Festival" in Boston, he wrote in January, 1859, as follows: 

"At a time when partisans avow the purpose to obliterate 
the landmarks of our fathers, and fanaticism assails the bar- 



188 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

riers they erected for the protection of rights coeval with aiul 
' essential to the existence of the Union — when Federal offices 
have been sought by inciting constituencies to hostile aggres- 
sions, and exercised, not as a trust for the common welfare, 
but as a means of disturbing domestic tranquility — when oaths 
to support the constitution have been taken with a mental 
reservation to disregard its spirit, and subvert the purposes for 
which it was established — surely it becomes all who are faith- 
ful to the compact of our Union, and who are resolved to 
maintain and preserve it, to compare differences on questions 
of mere expediency, and, forming deep around the institutions 
wc inherited, stand united to uphold, wdth unfaltering intent, 
a banner on which is inscribed the constitutional Union of 
free, equal, and independent States. 

" May the vows of ' love and allegiance,' which you propose 
to renew as a fitting tribute to the memory of the illustrious 
statesman whose birth you commemorate, find an echo in the 
lieart of every patriot in our land, and tend to the revival of 
that fraternity which bore our fathers through the Revolution 
to the consummation of the independence they transmitted to 
us, and the establishment of the more perfect Union which 
their wisdom devised to bless their posterity for ever ! 

"Though deprived of the pleasure of mingling my affec- 
tionate memories and aspirations with yours, I send you my 
cordial greeting to the friends of the constitution, and ask to 
be enrolled among those whose mission is, by fraternity and 
good faith to every constitutional obligation, to insure that, 
from the Aroostook to San Diego, from Key West to Puget's 
Sound, the grand arch of our political tem^ple sliall stand un- 
shaken." 

The above extracts are sufficient to show the spirit and tem- 
per of Wx. Davis in these days of political and sectional strife. 
He was at the same time a very laborious worker on the com- 
mittees on which he served and in the Senate. He favored 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 189 

warmly the Southern Pacific railway, and opposed ably and 
earnestly the *' French spoliation bill." 

In February, 18G0, he introduced in the Senate his famous 
" States-rights " resolutions, and there followed a debate of great 
ability, and some bitterness, in which Douglas and Davis had 
their great intellectual tilt. 

"Want of space prevents the giving of the entire debate, or 
even the full text of Mr. Davis's great speech, and unanswer- 
able argument, and it seems best to give simply his own modest 
account of it in his "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Govern- 
ment." He says : 

"On February 2, 1860, the author submitted, in the Senate 
of the United States, a series of resolutions, afterwards slightly 
modified to read as follows : 

1. Resolved, That, in the adoption of the Federal constitu- 
tion, the States, adopting the same, acted severally as free and 
independent sovereignties, delegating a portion of their powers 
to be exercised by the Federal government for the increased 
security of each against dangers, domestic as well as foreign ; 
and that any intermeddling by any one or more States, or by 
a combination of their citizens, with the domestic institutions 
of the others, on any pretext whatever, political, moral, or 
religious, with the view to their disturbance or subversion, is 
in violation of the constitution, insulting to the States so inter- 
fered with, endangers their domestic peace and tranquility — 
objects for which the constitution was formed — and, by neces- 
sary consequence, tends to weaken and destroy the Union itself. 

2, Resolved, That negro slavery, as it exists in fifteen States 
of this Union, composes an important part of their domestic 
institutions, inherited from our ancestors, and existing at the 
adoption of the constitution, by which it is recognized as con- 
stituting an important element in the apportionment of powers 
among the States, and that no change of opinion or feeling on 
the part of the non-slaveholding States of the Union in relation 
to this institution can justify them or their citizens in open or 
covert attacks thereon, with a view to its overtlirow ; and that 
all such attacks are in manifest violation of the mutual and 
solemn pledge to protect and defend each other, given by the 



190 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

States respectively, on entering into the constitutional compact 
which formed the Union, and are a manifest breach of faith 
and a violation of the most solemn obligations. 

3. Resolved, That the Union of these States rests on the 
equality of rights and privileges among its members, and that 
it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the 
States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to dis- 
criminate either in relation to persons or property in the Ter- 
ritories, which are the common possessions of the United States, 
so as to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are 
not equally assured to those of every other State. 

4. Resolved, That neither Congress nor a territorial legis- 
lature, Mdiether by direct legislation or legislation of an indi- 
rect and unfriendly character, possesses poM'er to annul or 
impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United 
States to take his slave property into the common territories, 
and there hold and enjoy the same while the territorial condi- 
tion remains. 

5. Resolved, That if experience should at any time prove 
that the judiciary and executive authority do not possess 
means to insure adequate protection to constitutional rights in 
a territory, and if the territorial government shall fail or 
refuse to provide the necessary remedies for that purpose, it 
will be the duty of Congress to supply such deficiency.* 

6. Resolved, That the inhabitants of a territory of the 
United States, when they rightfully form a constitution to be 
admitted as a State into the Union, may then, for the first 
time, like the people of a State when forming a new constitu- 
tion, decide for themselves whether slavery, as a domestic 
institution, shall be maintained or prohibited within their 
jurisdiction ; and they shall be received into the Union with 
or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the 
time of their admission. 

7. Resolved, That the provision of the constitution for the 
rendition of fugitives from service or labor, 'without the adop- 
tion of which the Union could not have been formed,' and that 
the laws of 1793 and 1850, which were enacted to secure its 
execution, and the main features of which, being similar, bear 
the impress of nearly seventy years of sanction by the highest 

*The Avords, :\vithin the limits of its constitutional po\vers, were subsequently added to 
this resolution, on the, suggestion of Mr. Tooinbs, of Georgia, with the approval of the 
mover. ~ ~ 



AGAIN IN TUB UNITED STATES SENATE. 191 

judicial authority, should be honestly and faithfully observed 
and maintained by all who enjoy the benefits of our compact 
of union; and that all acts of individuals o.r of State legisla- 
tures to defeat the purpose or nullify the requirements of that 
provision, and the laws made in pursuance of it, are hostile in 
character, subversive of the constitution, and revolutionary in 
their effect.' 

"After a protracted and earnest debate, these resolutions 
were adopted seriatim, on the 24th and 25th of May, by a 
decided majority of the Senate (varying from thirty-three to 
thirty-six yeas against from two to twenty-one nays), the 
Democrats, both Northern and Southern, sustaining them unit- 
edly, with the exception of one adverse vote (that of Mr. Pugh, 
of Ohio,) on the fourth and sixth resolutions. The Republi- 
cans all voted against them or refrained frem voting at all, 
except that Mr. Teneyck, of New Jersey, voted for the fifth and 
seventh of the series. ' Mr. Douglas, the leader if not the 
author of 'popular sovereignty,' was absent on account of 
illness, and there were a few other absentees. 

"The conclusion of a speech, in reply to Mr. Douglas, a 
hw days before the vote was taken on these resolutions, is 
introduced here as the best evidence of the position of the 
author at that period of excitement and agitation : 

CONCLUSION OF REPLY TO MR. DOUGLAS, MAY 17, 1860. 

" Jfr. President: I briefly and reluctantly referred, because 
the subject had been introduced, to the attitude of Mississippi 
on a former occasion. I will now as briefly say that in 1851, 
and in 1860, Mississippi was, and is, ready to make every con- 
cession which it becomes her to make to the welfare and the 
safety of the Union. If, on a former occasion, she hoped too 
much from fraternity, the responsibility for her disappoint- 
ment rests upon those who failed to fulfil her expectations. 
/ She still clings to the government as our fathers formed it. 
She is ready to-day and ■'.o-morrow, as in her past and though 



192 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UME. 

brief yet brilliant history, to maintain that government in all 
its power, and to vindicate its honor with all the means she 
possesses. I say brilliant history; for it was in the very 
morning of her existence that her sons, on the plains of New 
Orleans, were announced, in general orders, to have been the 
admiration of one army and the wonder of the other. That 
we had a division, in relation to the measures enacted in 1850, 
is true; that the Southern rights men became the minority in 
the election which resulted is true; but no figure of speech 
could warrant the senator in speaking of them as subdued — 
as coming to him or anybody else for quarter. I deemed it 
offensive when it was uttered, and the scorn with which I 
repelled it at the instant, time has only softened to contempt. 
Our flag was never borne from the field. We had car- 
ried it in"[the face of defeat, with a knowledge that defeat 
awaited it; but scarcely had the smoke of the battle passed 
away which proclaimed another victor, before the general voice 
admitted that the field again was ours. I have not seen a 
sagacious reflecting man, who was cognizant of the events as 
they transpired at the time, who does not say that, within two 
weeks after the election, our party was in a majority; and the 
next election which occurred showed that we possessed the 
State beyond controversy. How we have wielded that power it 
is not for me to say. I trust others may see forbearance in our 
conduct — that, with a determination to insist upon our consti- 
tutional rights, then and now, there is an unwavering desire 
to maintain the government, and to uphold the Democratic 
party. 

"We believe now, as we have asserted on former occasions, 
that the best hope for the perpetuity of our institutions depends 
upon the co-operation, the harmony, the zealous action, of the 
Democratic party. We cling to that party from conviction that 
its principles and its aims are those of truth and the country, 
as we cling to the Union for the fulfillment of the purposes for 



A GA Ili ly THE UNITED ST A TES SENA TE. 193 

which it was formed. Whenever we shall be taught that the 
Democratic party is recreant to its principles ; whenever we 
shall learn that it cannot be relied upon to maintain the great 
measures which constitute its vitality — I for one shall be ready 
to leave it. And so, when we declare our tenacious adherence 
to the Union, it is the- Union of the constitution. If the com- 
pact between the States is to be trampled into the dust; if 
anarchy is to be substituted for the usurpation and consolida- 
tion which threatened the government at an earlier period ; if 
the Union is to become powerless for the purposes for which it 
was established, and wo are vainly to appeal to it for protec- 
tion — then, sir, conscious of the rectitude of our course, the 
justice of our cause, self-reliant, yet humbly, confidingly trust- 
ing in the arm that guided and protected our fathers, we look 
beyond the confines of the Union for the maintenance of our 
rights, j An habitual reverence and cherished affection for the 
government will bind us to it longer than our interests would 
suggest or require; but he is a poor student of the world's his- 
tory who does not understand that communities at last must 
yield to the dictates of their interests. That the aff'ection, 
the mutual desire for the mutual good, which existed among 
GUI fathers, may be weakened in succeeding generations by the 
denial of right, and hostile demonstration, until the equality 
guaranteed but not secured wdthin the Union may be sought 
for without it, must be evident to even a careless observer of 
our race. It is time to be up and doing. There is yet time 
to remove the causes of dissension and alienation which are 
now distracting, and have for years past divided, the country. 
"It the senator correctly described me as having at a former 
period, against my own preferences and opinions, acquiesced 
in the decision of my party; if, when I had youth, when physi- 
cal vigor gave promise of many days, and the future was 
painted in the colors of hope, I could thus surrender my own 
convictions, my own prejudices, and co-operate with my politi- 
13 



194 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

cal friends according to their views of the best method of pro- 
moting the public good — now, when the years of my future 
cannot be many, and experience lias sobered the hopeful tints 
of youth's gilding; when, approaching the evening of life, the 
shadows are reversed, and the mind turns retrospectively, it is 
not to be supposed that I would abandon lightly, or idly put 
on trial, the party to which I have steadily adhered. It i» 
rather to be assumed that conservatism, which belongs to the 
timidity or caution of increasing years, would lead me to cling 
to, to be supported by, rather than to cast off, the organization 
with which I have been so long connected. If I am driven to 
consider the necessity of separating myself from those old and 
dear relations, of discarding the accustomed suj)port, under 
circumstances such as I have described, might not my friends 
who dififer from me pause and inquire whether there is not 
something involved in it which calls for their careful revision? 

" I desire no divided flag for the Democratic party. 

" Our principles are national ; they belong to every State of 
the Union; and, though elections may be lost by their asser- 
tion, they constitute the only foundation on which we can 
maintain power, on which we can again rise to the dignity the 
Democracy once possessed. Does not the senator from Illinois 
see in the sectional character of the vote he received,* that his 
opinions are not acceptable to every portion of the country? 
Is not the fact that the resolutions adopted by seventeen States, 
on which the greatest reliance must be placed for Democratic 
suj^port, are in opposition to the dogma to which he still 
clings, a warning that, if he persists and succeeds in forcing 
his theory upon the Democratic party, its days are num- 
bered? We ask only for the constitution. We ask of the 
Democracy only from time to time to declare, as current 
exigencies may indicate, what the constitution was intended 
to secure and provide. Our flag bears no new device. 

* In the Democratic Convention, which had been recently held in Charleston. 



AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 195 

Upon its folds our principles are written in living light; all 
proclaiming the constitutional Union, justice, equality, and 
fraternity of our ocean-bound domain, for a limitless future." 

Mr. Davis had been frequently spoken of in connection 
with the Presidency of the United States, and at the meeting 
of the Democratic convention at Charleston, S. C, in May, 
18G0, he had received a large A^ote for the nomination — Hon. 
Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, voting for him on 189 
ballots — but he had not sought, and did not desire the nomi- 
nation 

He sided with the section of his party which nominated 
Breckinridge, but earnestly sought to reconcile the conflicting 
elements, and, had gotten, by his personal solicitation, both 
Breckinridge and Bell to agree to withdraw from the canvass 
on condition that Douglas would do the same, and the three 
elements could unite on a candidate who could successfully 
oppose the sectional candidate of the Kepublicans — Abraham 
Lincoln, of Illinois. But Mr. Douglas absolutely refused to 
withdraw, the four candidates remained in the field, and the 
apprehensions of Mr. Davis were realized in the election of 
Lincoln by a plurality of the electoral vote, thougli by only 
about one-third of the popular vote. 



XIL 

EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION, 

It has long been the custom of Northern writers to talk flip- 
pantly about the "secession conspirators," and to denounce 
Southern Leaders, and especially Mr. Davis, as secretly "plot- 
ting to destroy the Union," because of failure to carry out their 
own ambitious ends, and the "Slaveholders' Rebellion" is held 
up to eternal execration as a wicked attempt to " destroy the 
life of the Nation." 

Never was there a more unjustifiable attempt to falsify the 
truth of history, and to shift the responsibility of the war from 
those who were really the guilty parties to those who did all in 
tJ eir power to avert it. 

No man ever loved the "Union of the Fathers" more devo- 
tedly than Jefferson Davis — no man ever strove more earnestly 
than he to prevent its dissolution. And when all hope had 
fled and he followed his Sovereign State in the exercise of her 
constitutional right of Secession, and was called to be the 
President of the Confederacy, he did everything in his power 
to avert war, stood purely on the defensive, and made as purely 
a defensive fight for sacred principles and rights as the world 
ever saw, or the pen of the historian ever recorded. 

But before giving the details of his efforts to avert threat- 
ened disunion and war, let us look at an admirable summary 
of the events that led up to the catastrophe, which he gives in 
the seventh chapter of his great book — "The Rise and Fall of 
the Confederate Government." 

1196J 



EFFORTS TO PRESER VE THE UNION. 1S7 

We quote in full as follows : 

"When, at the close of the war of the Revolution, each of 
the thirteen colonies that had been engaged in that contest 
was severally acknowledged by the mother-country, Great 
Britain, to be a free and independent State, the confederation 
of those States embraced an area so extensive, with climate and 
products so various, that rivalries and conflicts of interest soon 
began to be manifested. It required all the power of wisdom 
and patriotism, animated by the affection engendered by com- 
mon sufferings and dangers, to keep these rivalries under 
restraint, and to effect those compromises which it was fondly 
hoped would insure the harmony and mutual good offices of 
each for the benefit of all. It was in this spirit of patriotism 
and confidence in the continuance of such abiding good will 
as would fop all time preclude hostile aggression, that Virginia 
ceded, for the use of the confederated States, all the vast 
extent of territory lying north of the Ohio river, out of which 
have since been formed five States and part* of a sixth. The 
addition of these States has accrued entirely to the preponder- 
ance of the Northern section over that from which the dona- 
tion proceeded, and to the disturbance of the equilibrium 
which existed at the close of the war of the Revolution. 

*'It may not be out of place here to refer to the fact that the 
grievances which led to that war were directly inflicted upon the 
Northern colonies. Those of the South had no material cause 
of complaint ; but, actuated by sympathy for their Northern 
brethren, and devotion to the principles of civil liberty and 
community independence, which they had inherited from their 
Anglo-Saxon ancestry, and which were set forth in the 
Declaration of Independence, they made common cause with 
their neighbors, and may, at least, claim to have done their 
full share in the war that ensued. 

"By the exclusion of the South, in 1820, from all that part 
of the Louisiana purchase lying north of the parallel of thirty- 



198 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

six degrees thirty minutes, and not included in the State of 
Missouri; by the extension of that line of exclusion to em- 
brace the territory acquired from Texas; and by the appro- 
priation of all the territory obtained from Mexico under the 
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, both north and south of that 
line, it may be stated with approximate accuracy that the 
North had monopolized to herself more than three-fourths of 
all that had been added to the domain of the United States 
since the Declaration of Independence. This inequality, which 
began, as has been shown, in the more generous than wise con- 
fidence of the South, was employed to obtain for the North 
the lion's share of what was afterwar<i added at the cost of the 
public treasure and the blood of patriots. I do not care to 
estimate the relative proportion contributed by each of the 
two sections. 

" Nor was this the only cause that operated to disappoint the 
reasonable hopes and to blight the fair prospects under which 
the original compact was formed. The effects of discriminat- 
ing duties upon imports have been referred to in a former 
chapter — favoring the manufacturing region, which was the 
North; burdening the exporting region, which was the South ; 
and so imposing upon the latter a double tax ; one, by the 
increased j)rice of articles of consumption, which, so far as 
they were of home production, went into the pockets of the 
manufacturer; the other, by the diminished value of articles 
of export, which was so much withheld from the pockets of 
the agriculturist. In like manner the power of the majority 
section was employed to appropriate to itself an unequal share 
of the public disbursements. These combined causes — the 
possession of more territory, more money, and a wider field for 
the employment of special labor — all served to attract immi- 
gration; and, with increasing population, the greed grew by 
what it fed on. 



EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 199 

" This became distinctly manifest when the so-called ' Repub- 
lican' convention assembled in Chicago, on May 16, 1860, to 
nominate a candidate for the Presidency. It was a purely sec- 
tional body. There were a few delegates present, representing 
an insignificant minority in the 'border States,' Delawarcj 
Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri; but not one 
from any State south of the celebrated political line of thirty- 
six degrees thirty minutes. It had been the invariable usage 
with nominating conventions of all parties to select candidates 
for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, one from the North 
and the other from the South; but this assemblage nominated 
Mr. Lincoln, of Illinois, for the first office, and for the second, 
Mr. Hamlin, of Maine — both Northerners. Mr. Lincoln, its 
nominee for the Presidency, had publicly announced that the 
Union 'could not permanently endure, half slave and half 
free.' The resolutions adopted contained some carefully 
worded declarations, well adapted to deceive the credulous 
who were opposed to hostile aggressions upon the rights of the 
States. In order to accomplish this purpose, they were com- 
pelled to create a fictitious issue, in denouncing what they 
described as 'the new dogma that the constitution, of its own 
force, carries slavery into any or all of the Territorries of the 
United States' — a 'dogma' which had never been held or 
declared by anybody, and which had no existence outside of 
their own assertion. There was enough in connection with 
the nomination to assure the most fanatical foes of the consti- 
tution that their ideas would be the rule and guide of the party. 

" Meantime, the Democratic party had held a convention, 
composed, as usual, of delegates from all the States. They 
met in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 23d, but an 
unfortunate disagreement with regard to the declaration of 
principles to be set forth rendered a nomination impractica- 
ble. Both divisions of the convention adjourned, and met 
again in Baltimore in June. Then, having finally failed to 



200 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

come to an agreement, they separated and made their respec- 
tive nominations apart. Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, was nomi- 
nated by the friends of the doctrine of 'popular sovereignty,* 
with Mr. Fritzpatrick, of Alabama, for the Vice-Presidency. 
Both these gentlemen at that time were senators from their 
respective States. Mr, Fritzpatrick promptly declined the 
nomination, and his place was filled with the name of Mr. 
Herschel V. Johnson, a distinguished citizen of Georgia. 

"The convention representing the conservative, or State- 
Rights, wing of the Democratic party (the President of which 
was the Honorable Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts), on the 
first ballot, unanimously made choice of John C. Breckin- 
ridge, of Kentucky, then Vice-President of the United States, 
for the first office, and with like unanimity selected General 
Joseph Lane, then a senator from Oregon, for the second. 
The resolutions of each of these two conventions denounced the 
action and policy of the abolition party, as subversive of the 
constitution and revolutionary in their tendency. 

" Another convention was held in Baltimore about the same 
period* by those who still adhered to the old Whig part}^ 
re-enforced by the remains of the 'American' organization, and 
perhaps some others. This convention also consisted of dele- 
gates from all the States, and repudiating all geographical and 
sectional issues, and declaring it to be 'both the part of patri- 
otism and of duty to recognize no political principle other than 
the constitution of the country, the Union of the States, and 
the enforcement of the laws,' pledged itself and its supporters 
*to maintain, protect, and defend, separately and unitedly, 
those great principles of public liberty and national safety 
against all enemies at home and abroad." Its nominees were 
Messrs. John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Mas- 
sachusetts, both of whom had long been distinguished mem- 
bers of the "Whig party. 

*Mayl9,1860. ' 



EFFORTS TO PBESEBVE THE UNION. 201 

"The people of the United States now had four rival tickets 
presented to them by as many contending parties, whose 
respective position and principles on the great and absorbing 
question at issue may be briefly recapitulated as follows: 

"1. The 'Constitutional-Union' party, as it was now termed, 
led by Messrs. Bell and Everett, which ignored the territorial 
controversy altogether, and contented itself, as above stated, 
with a simple declaration of adherence to 'the constitution, the 
Union, and the enforcement of the laws.' 

"2. The party of 'popular sovereignty,' headed by Douglas 
a-nd Johnson, who affirmed the right of the people of the ter- 
ritories, in their territorial condition, to determine their own 
organic institutions, independently of the control of Congress 
denying the power or duty of Congress 1o protect the persons 
or property of individuals or minorities in such territories 
against the action of majorities. 

"3. The State-rights party, supporting Breckinridge and 
Lane, who held that the Territories were open to citizens of all 
the States, with their propertj^, without any inequality or dis- 
crimination, and that it was the duty of the general govern- 
ment to protect both persons and property from aggression in 
the Territories subject to its control. At the same time they 
admitted and asserted the right of the people of a Territory, 
on emerging from their territorial condition to that of a State, 
to determine what should then be their domestic institutions, 
as well as all other questions of personal or proprietary right, 
without interference by Congress, and subject only to the limi- 
tations and restrictions prescribed by the constitution of the 
United States. 

"4. The so-called 'Republicans,' presenting the naraes of 
Lincoln and Hamlin, who held, in the language of one of their 
leaders,* that 'slavery can exist only by virtue of municipal 
law'; that there was 'no law for it in the Territories, and no 

* Horace Greeley, " Tbe American Conflict," yol. i, p. 322. 



202 THE DA VIS MEMOEIAL VOLUME. 

power to enact one"; and that Congress was 'bound to pro- 
hibit it in or exclude it from any and every Federal Territory.' 
In other words, they asserted the right and duty of Congress 
to exclude the citizens of half the States of the Union from the 
territory belonging in common to all, unless on condition of 
the sacrifice or abandonment of their property recognized by 
the constitution — indeed, of the only species of their property 
distinctly and specifically recognized as such by that instru- 
ment. 

"On the vital question underlying the whole controversy — 
that is, whether the Federal government should be a govern- 
ment of the whole for the benefit of all its equal members, or 
(if it should continue to exist at all) a sectional government 
for the benefit of a part — the first three of the parties above 
described were in substantial accord as against the fourth. If 
they could or would have acted unitedly, they could certainly 
have carried the election, and averted the catastrophe which 
followed. Nor were efforts wanting to effect such a union. 

"Mr. Bell, the Whig candidate, was a highly respectable and 
experienced statesman, who had filled many important offices 
both State and Federal. He was not ambitious to the extent of 
coveting the Presidency, and he was profoundly impressed by 
the danger which threatened the country. Mr. Breckenridge 
had not anticipated, and it may safely be said did not eagerly 
desire, the nomination. He was young enough to wait, and 
patriotic enough to be willing to do so, if the weal of the coun- 
tr}^ required it. <rhus much I may confidently assert of both 
those gentlemen; for each of them authorized me to say that he 
was willing to withdraw, if an arrangement could be affected 
by which the divided forces of the friends of the constitution 
could be concentrated upon some one more generally acceptable 
than either of the three who had been presented to the country. 
When I made this announcement to Mr. Douglas — with whom 
my relations had always been such as to authorize the assurance 



EFFOBTS TO PBESEBVE THE UNION. 203 

that he could not consider it as made in an unfriendly spirit — 
he replied that the scheme proposed was impracticable, because 
his friends, mainly Northern Democrats, if he were withdrawn, 
would join in the supj^tort of Mr. Lincoln, rather than of any 
one that should supplant him (Douglas); that he was in the 
hands of his friends, and was sure they would not accept the 
jDroposition, 

" It needed but little knowledge of the status of parties in the 
several States to foresee a probable defeat if the conservatives 
were to continue divided into three parts, and the aggressives 
were to be held in solid column. But angry passions, which 
are always bad counsellors, had been aroused, and hopes were 
still cherished, which proved to be illusory. The result was 
the election, by a minority, of a President whose avowed prin- 
ciples were necessarily fatal to the harmony of the Union. 

" Of 303 electoral votes, Mr. Lincoln received 180, but of the 
popular suffrage of 4,676,853 votes, which the electors repre- 
sented, he obtained only 1,866,352 — something over a third of 
the votes. This discrepancy was owing to the system of voting 
by 'general ticket' — that is, casting the State votes as a unit, 
whether unanimous or nearly equally divided. Thus, in New 
York, the total popular vote was 675,156, of which 362,646 
were cast for the so-called Republican (or Lincoln) electors, and 
312,510 against them. New York was entitled to 35 electoral 
votes. Divided on the basis of the popular vote, 19 of these 
would have been cast for Mr. Lincoln, and 16 against him. 
But under the 'general ticket' system the entire 35 votes were 
cast for the Republican candidates, thus giving them not only 
the full strength of the majority in their favor, but that of the 
great minority against them superadded. So of other Northern 
States, in which the small majorities on one side operated with 
the weight of entire unanimity, while the virtual unanimity 
in the Southern States, on the other side, counted nothing 
more than a mere majority would have done. 



204 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"The manifestations which followed this result, in the South- 
ern States, did not proceed, as has been unjustly charged, from 
chagrin at their defeat in the election, or from any personal 
hostility to the President-elect, but from the fact that they 
recognized in him the representative of a party professing prin- 
ciples destructive to 'their peace, their prosperity, and their 
domestic tranquility.' The long-suppressed fire burst into 
frequent flame, but it was still controlled by that love of the 
Union which the South had illustrated on every battle-field, 
from Boston to New Orleans. Still it was hoped, against hope, 
that some adjustment might be made to avert the calamities of 
a practical application of the theory of an 'irrepressible conflict.' 
Few, if any, then doubted the right of a State to withdraw its 
grants delegated to the Federal government, or, in other words, 
to secede from the Union ; but in the South it was generally 
regarded as the remedy of last resort, to be applied only when 
ruin or dishonor was the alternative. No rash or revolution- 
ary action was taken by the Southern States, but the measures 
adoj^ted were considerate, and executed advisedly and delibe- 
rately. The Presidential election occurred (as far as the 
popular vote, which determined the result, was concerned) in 
November, 18G0. Most of the State legislatures convened 
soon afterward in regular session. In some cases special ses- 
sions were convoked for the purpose of calling State Conven- 
tions — the recognized representatives of the sovereign will of 
the people — to be elected expressly for the purpose of taking 
such action as should be considered needful and proper under 
the existing circumstances 

"These conventions, as it was always held and understood, 
possessed all the power of the people assembled in mass; and 
therefore it was conceded that they, and they only, could take 
action for the withdrawal of a State from the Union. The con- 
sent of the respective States to the formation of the Union had 
been giving through such conventions, and it was only by the 



MFFOitTS TO PRESERVE THE CNION. 205 

same authority that it could properly be revoked. The lime 
required for this deliberate and formal process precludes the 
idea of hast}^ or passionate action, and none who admit the pri- 
mary power of the people to govern themselves can consistently 
deny its validity and binding obligation upon every citizen of 
the several States. Not only M'as there ample time for calm 
consideration among the people of the South, but for due reflec- 
tion by the general government and the people of the Northern 
States. 

"President Buchanan was in the last j^ear of his administra- 
tion. His freedom from sectional asperity, his long life in the 
public service and his peace-loving and conciliatory character, 
were all guarantees against his precipitating a conflict between 
the Federal government and any of the States; but the feeble 
power that he possessed in the closing months of his term to 
mold the policy of the future was painfully evident. Like all 
who had intelligently and impartially studied the history of 
the formation of the constitution, he held that the Federal gov- 
ernment had no rightful power to coerce a State. Like the sages 
and patriots who preceded him in the high office that he 
filled, he believed that * our Union rests upon public opinion, 
and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in 
civil war If it cannot live in the affections of the peoj^le, it 
must one day perish. Congress may possess many means of 
preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed 
in their hand to preserve it by force.' — (Message of December 
3, 1860.) 

"Ten years before, Mr. Calhoun, addressing the Senate with 
all the earnestness of his nature, and with that sincere desire 
to avert the danger of disunion which those who knew liini 
best never doubted, had asked the emphatic question. How 
can the Union be saved?' He answered his question thus 

" 'There is but one way by which it can be [saved] witli any 
certainty ; and that is by a full and final settlement, on the 



206 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

principles of justice, of all tlie questions at issue between the 
sections. The South asks for justice — simple justice — and less 
she ought not to take. She has no comj)romise to offer but 
the constitution, and no concession ov surrender to make. 

"'Can this be done? Yes, easily . Not by the weaker 
j^arty ; for it can of itself do nothing — not even protect itself — • 
but by the stronger. But will the North agree to this ? It is 
for her to answer this question. But, I will say, she cannot 
refuse if she has half the love of the Union which she professes 
to have, nor without exposing herself to the charge that her 
love of power and aggrandizement is far greater than her love 
of the Union.' 

'' During the ten years that intervened between the date of 
this speech and the message of Mr. Buchanan cited above, the 
l^rogress of sectional discord and the tendency of the stronger 
section to unconstitutional aggression had been fearfully rapid. 
With very rare exceptions, there were none in 1850 who claimed 
the right .of the Federal government to apply coercion to a 
State. In 1860 men had grown to be familiar with threats of 
driving the South into submission to any act that the govern- 
ment, in the hands of a Northern majority, might see fit 
to perform. During the canvass of that year, demonstrations 
had been made by g-jtasi-military organizations in various parts 
of the North, which looked unmistakably to purposes widely 
different from those enunciated m the p^^eamble to the consti- 
tution, and to the employment of means not authorized by 
the powers which the States had delegated to the Federal 
government. 

" Well-informed men still remembered that, in the conven- 
tion which framed the constitution, a proposition was made to 
authorize the employment of force against a delinquent State, 
on which Mr. Madison remarked that ' the use of force against 
a State would look more like a declaration of war than an 
infliction of punishment, and would probably be considered by 



EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 207 

the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by 
which it might have been bound.* The convention expressly 
refused to confer the power proposed, and the clause was lost. 
While, therefore, in 1860, many violent nien, appealing to 
passion and the lust of power, were inciting the multitude, 
and preparing Northern opinion to support a war waged 
against the Southern States in the event of their secession, there 
were others who took a different view of the case. Notable among 
such was the New York Tribune which had been the organ 
of the abolitionists, and which now declared that, *if the 
cotton States wished to withdraw from the Union, they should 
be allowed to do so'; that 'any attempt to compel them to 
remain, by force, would be contrary to the principles of i\\Q 
Declaration of Independence and to the fundamental ideas 
upon which human liberty is based'; and that, 'if the 
Declaration of Independence justified the secession from the 
British Empire of three millions of subjects in 1776, it was 
not seen why it would not justify the secession of five 
millions of Southerners from the Union in 1861.' Again, it 
was said by the same journal that, ' sooner than comjDromise 
with the South and abandon the Chicago platform,' they 
would 'let the Union slide.' Taunting expressions were 
freely used — as, for example, * If the Southern people wish to 
leave the Union, we will do our best to forward their views.' 

" All this, it must be admitted, was quite consistent with the 
oft-repeated declaration that the constitution was a ' covenant 
with hell,' which stood as the caption of a leading abolitionist 
paper of Boston. That signs of coming danger so visible, 
evidences of hostility so unmistakable, disregard of constitu- 
tional obligations so wanton, taunts and jeers so bitter and 
insulting, should serve to increase excitement in the South, was 
a consequence flowing as much from reason and patriotism as 
from sentiment. He must have been ignorant of human 
nature who did not expect such a tree to bear fruits of discord 
and division." 



208 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

As further illustrating the views of Mr. Davis during this 
great crisis, we quote a letter which he wrote under date of 
November 10th, 1860, just after tlie election of Mr. Lincoln. 

Hon. R. B. Rhett, ^Jr., was one of the ablest secession 
leaders of South Carolina, and belonged to the ultra wing 
which favored immediate and separate State action on the elec- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln. The reply of Mr. Davis is the more sig- 
nificant, because, while intended as a private letter and with 
no expectation of its ever meeting the public eye, he not only 
does not take the ultra position that has been attributed to 
him, but counsels the more conservative course of a conven- 
tion of the Southern States to consider the situation, and deter- 
mine what would be the wisest action for them to take. But 
the letter explains itself, and is as follows: 

WARRiiN County, Miss., Nov. 10, 1860. 
Hon. R. B. Rhett, Jr.: 

Dear Sir — I had the honor to receive, last night, yours of 
the 27th ultimo, and hasten to reply to the inquiries propoun- 
ded. Reports of the election leave little doubt that the event 
you anticipated has occurred, that electors have been chosen, 
securing the election of Lincoln, and I will answer on that 
supposition. 

My home is so isolated that I have had no intercourse with ^ 
those who might have aided me in forming an opinion as 
to the effect produced on the mind of our people by the result 
ol the recent election, and the impressions which I commun- 
icate are founded upon antecedent expressions. 

1. I doubt not that the governor of Mississippi has convoked 
the legislature to assemble within the present month to decide 
upon the course which the State should adopt in the present 
emergency. Whether the legislature will direct the call of a 
convention of the State, or appoint delegates to a convention of 
such Southern States as may be willing to consult together for 
the adoption of a Southern plan of action, is doubtful. 

2. If a convention of the State were assembled, the propo- 
sition to secede from the Union, independently of support from 
neighboring States, would probably fail. 



J 



£FFOBTS TO Pimst^BV:^ THE TJNiON. 209 

3. If South Carolina should first secede, and she alone should 
take such action, the position of Mississippi would not probably 
be changed by that fact. A powerful obstacle to the separate 
action of Mississippi is the want of a port; from which follows 
the consequence that her trade, being still conducted through 
the ports of the Union, her revenue would be diverted from 
her own support to that of a foreign government; and being 
geographically unconnected with South Carolina, an alliance 
with her would not vary that state of the case. [5'ic.] 

4. The propriety of separate secession by South Carolina 
depends so much upon collateral questions that I find it diffi- 
cult to respond to your last inquiry, for the want of knowledge 
which would enable me to estimate the value of the elements 
involved in the issue, though exterior to your State. Georgia 
is necessary to connect you with Alabama, and thus to make 
effectual the cooperation of Mississippi. If Georgia would be 
lost by immediate action, but could be gained by delay, it 
seems clear to me that you should wait. If the secession of 
South Carolina should be followed by an attempt to coerce her 
back into the Union, that act of usurpation, folly, and wicked- 
ness would enlist every true Southern man for her defense. 
If it were attempted to blockade her ports and destroy her 
trade, a like result would be produced, and the commercial 
world would probably be added to her allies. It is probable 
that neither of those measures would be adopted by any admin- 
istration, but that Federal ships would be sent to collect the 
duties on imports outside of the bar; that the commercial 
nations would feel little interest in that; and the Southern 
States would have little power to counteract it. 

The planting States have a common interest of such magni- 
tude, that their union, sooner or later, for the protection of that 
interest, is certain. United they will have ample power for 
their own protection, and their exports will make for them allies 
of all commercial and manufacturing powers. 

The new States have a hetreogeneous population, and will 
be slower and less unanimous than those in which there is less 
of the Northern element in the body politic, but interest con- 
trols the policy of States, and finally all the planting commu- 
nities must reach the same conclusion. My opinion is, therefore, 
as it has been, in favor of seeking to bring those States into coopera- 
tion before asking for a popular decision upon a new 'policy and 

14 



210 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

relation to the nations of the earth. If South Carolina should 
resolve to secede before that cooperation can be obtained, to go 
out leaving Georgia, and Alabama, and Louisiana in the 
Union, and without any reason to suppose they will follow her, 
there appears to me to be no advantage in waiting until the 
government has passed into hostile hands, and men have 
become fiimiliarized to that injurious and offensive perversion 
of the general government from the ends for which it was 
established. I have written with the freedom and carelessness 
of private correspondence, and regret that I could not give 
more precise information. 

Very respectfully, yours, etc, 

Jefferson Davis. 

Soon after the election of Mr. Lincoln, the governor of Mis- 
sissippi issued his proclamation convening the legislature in 
special session, and invited the United States Senators and 
members of the House from the State to meet him in confer- 
ence to discuss the character of the message he should send to 
the legislature. 

In that conference Mr. Davis stood almost alone, and opposed 
immediate and separate state action so strongly that his col- 
leagues were dissatisfied with his action, and some of them 
thought him entirely "too slow," if not opposed to secession 
altogether. The following letter from Hon. O. R. Singleton, 
a member of the conference, confirms Mr. Davis's own state- 
ment of it: 

" Canton, Mississippi, July 14, 1877. 

"In 1860, about the time the ordinance of secession was 
p ssed by the South Carolina convention, and while Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, and other Southern States we.re making active 
preparations to follow her example, a conference of the Missis- 
sippi delegation in Congress, Senators and Representatives, 
w^as asked for by Governor J. J. Pettus, for consultation as to 
the course Mississippi ought to take in the premises. 

"The meeting took place in the fall of 1860, at Jackson, 
the capital, the whole delegation being present, with perhaps 
the exception of one representative. 



EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNIOK. 211 

" The main question for consideration was : ' Sliall Missis- 
sippi, as soon as her convention can meet, pass an ordinance 
of secession, thus placing herself by the side of South Caro- 
lina, regardless of the action of other States; or shall she 
endeavor to hold South Carolina in check, and delay action 
herself, until other States can get ready, through their conven- 
tions, to unite with them, and then, on a given day and at a 
given hour, by concert of action, all the States willing to do 
so, secede in a body ?' 

" Upon the one side, it was argued that South Carolina could 
not be induced to delay action a single moment beyond the 
meeting of her convention, and that our fate should be hers, 
and to delay action would be to have her crushed by the Fed- 
eral government; whereas, by the earliest action possible, we 
might be able to avert this calamity. On the other side, it 
was contended that delay might bring the Federal government 
to consider the emergency of the case, and perhaps a compro- 
mise could be effected; but, if not, then the proposed concert 
of action would at least give dignity to the movement, and 
present an undivided Southern front. 

" The debate lasted many hours, and Mr. Davis, with per- 
haps one other gentleman in that conference, opposed imme- 
diate and separate State action, declaring himself opposed to 
secession as long as the hope of a peaceable remedy remained. 
He did not believe we ought to precipitate the issue, as he felt 
certain from his knowledge of the people. North and South, 
that, once there was a clash of arms, the contest would be one 
of the most sanguinary the world had ever witnessed. 

"A majority of the meeting decided that no delay should be 
interposed to separate State action, Mr. Davis being on the other 
side ; but, after the vote was taken and the question decided, 
Mr. Davis declared he would stand by whatever action the 
convention representing the sovereignty of the State of Missis- 
sippi might think proper to take. 

"After the conference was ended, several of its members 
were dissatisfied with the course of ]\Ir. Davis, believing that 
he was entirely opposed to secession, and was seeking to delay 
action upon the part of Mississippi, with the hope that it 
might be entirely averted. 

" In some unimportant respects my memory may be at fault, 
and possibly some of the inferences drawn may be incorrect ; 



212 THE DAVIS 3£EM0mAL V0LU3fE. 

but every material statement maae, I am sure, is true, and, if 
need be, can be easily substantiated by. other persons, 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
(Signed) 0. R. Singleton." 

Mr. Davis was active and earnest in his efforts to effect a 
compromise and reach a basis which would permit the South- 
ern States to remain in the Union. He was a member of the 
committee of the Senate to whom was referred the famous 
" Crittenden compromise," and avowed himself willing to 
accept that or any other plan that the opposing factions could 
agree upon, and that promised any reasonable hope of suc- 
cess. But the "Republican" members of the committee 
rejected absolutely everything that the Northern and Southern 
Democrats and Whigs agreed on, and seemed determined not 
to consent to anything that promised a settlement. On the 
10th of December, Mr. Davis closed an able and eloquent 
speech as follows: 

" This Union is dear to me as a Union of fraternal States. 
It would lose its value if I had to regard it as a Union held 
together by physical force. I would be happy to know that 
every State now felt that fraternity which made this Union 
possible ; and, if that evidence could go out, if evidence satis- 
factory to the people of the South could be given that that 
feeling existed in the hearts of the Northern people, you might 
burn your statute books and we would cling to the Union still. 
But it is because of their conviction that hostility, and not fra- 
ternity, now exists in the hearts of the people, that they are look- 
ing to their reserved rights and to their independent powers for 
their own protection. If there be any good, then, which we can 
do, it is by sending evidence to them of "that whioh I fear does 
not exist — the purpose of your constituents to fulfil in the 
spirit of justice and fraternity all their constitutional obliga- 
tions. If you can submit to them that evidence, I feel confi- 
dence that, with the assurance that aggression is henceforth to 
cease, will terminate all the measures for defense. Upon you 
of the majority section it depends to restore peace and perpetu- 
ate the Union of equal States ; upon us of the minority section 



EFFORTS TO F RESERVE THE UNION. 213 

rests the duty to maintain our equality and community rights; 
and the means in one case or the other must be such as each 
■can control." 

Mr. Davis, in his book, has ably and triumphantly vindi- 
cated himself and other Southern Senators and Representatives 
from the oft-repeated slander that ,hey were members of a 
secret "cabal," plotting the destruction of the Union, and shows 
that he did everything in his power to avert the calamity. 

He quotes tfhe following clear and conclusive reply of his 
intimate friend, Hon. C. C. Clay, of Alabama, to certain 
phases of this slander to which bis attention had been called: 

"The import is, that Mr. Davis, disappointed and cha- 
grined at not receiving the nomination of the Democratic 
party for President of the United States in 1860, took the lead 
on the assembling of Congress in December, 1860, in a 'con- 
spiracy' of Southern Senators which planned the secession of 
the Southern States from the Union,' and * on the night of 
January 5, 1861, . ^ framed the scheme of revqlution which 
was implicitly and promptly followed at the South.' In other 
words, that Southern Senators (and, chief among them, Jeffer- 
son Davis), then and there, instigated and induced the Southern 
States to secede. 

' I am quite sure that Mr. Davis neitlier expected nor desired 
the nomination for the Presidency of the United States in 
1860. He never evinced any such aspiration, by word or 
sign, to me — with whom he was, I believe, as intimate and 
confidential as with any person outside of his own family. 
On the contrary, he requested the delegation from Mississippi 
not to permit the use of his name before the convention. 
And, after the nomination of both Douglas and Breckinridge, 
he conferred with them, at the instance of leading Democrats, 
to persuade them to withdraw, that their friends might unite 
on some second choice — an office he would never have under- 
taken, had he sought the nomination or believed that he was 
regarded as an aspirant. 



214 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Mr. Davis did not take an active part in planning or has- 
tening secession. I think he only regretfully consented to it, 
as a political necessity for the preservation of popular and 
State rights, which were seriously threatened by the triumph 
of a sectional party who were pledged to make war on them. 
1 know that some leading men, and even Mississippians, 
thought him too moderate and backward, and found fault with 
him for not taking a leading part in secession. 

" No plan of secession ' or 'scheme of revolution ' was, to my 
knowledge, discussed — certainly none matured — at the caucus, 
5th of January, 1861, unless, forsooth, the resolutions appended 
hereto be so held. They comprise the sum and substance of 
what was said and done. I never heard that the caucus advised 
the South ' to accumulate munitions of war,' or ' to organize and 
equip an army of one hundred thousand men,' or determined 
'to hold on as long as possible to the Southern seats.' So far 
from it, a majority of Southern Senators seemed to think there 
would be no war; that the dominant party in the North 
desired separation from the South, and would gladly let their 
'erring sisters go in peace.' I could multiply proofs of such a 
disposition. As to holding on to their seats, no Southern leg- 
islature advised it, no Southern Senator who favored secession 
did so but one, and none others wished to do so, I believe. 

"The ^plan of secession,' if any, and the purpose of seces- 
sion, unquestionably, originated, not in AVashington city, or 
with the Senators or Representatives of the South, but among 
the people of the several States, many months before it was 
attempted. They followed no leaders at Washington or else- 
where, but acted for themselves, with an independence and 
unanimity unprecedented in any movement of such magni- 
tude. Before the meeting of the caucus of January 5, 1861, 
South Carolina had seceded, and Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, 
Louisiana and Texas had taken the initial step of secession, 
by calling conventions for its accomplishment. Before the elec- 



EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE IWION, 215 

tion of Lincoln, all the Southern States, excepting one or two, 
had pledged themselves to separate from the Union upon the 
triumph of a sectional party in the presidential election, by 
acts or resolutions of their legislatures, resolves of both Dem- 
ocratic and Whig State conventions, and of primary assemblies 
of the people — in every way in which they could commit 
themselves to any future act. Their purpose was proclaimed 
to the world through the press and telegraph, and criticised in 
Congress, in the Northern legislatures, in press and pulpit, 
and on the hustings, during many] months before Congress 
met in December, 1860. 

" Over and above all these facts, the reports of the United 
States Senate show that, prior to the 5th of January, 1861, 
Southern Senators united with Northern Democratic Senators 
in an effort to effect pacification and prevent secession, and 
that Jefferson Davis was one of a committee appointed by the 
Senate to consider and report such a measure; that it failed 
because the Northern Republicans opposed everything that 
looked to peace; that Senator Douglas arraigned them as try- 
ing to precipitate secession, referred to Jefferson Davis as one 
who sought conciliation, and called upon the Kepublican Sen- 
ators to tell what they would do, if anything, to restore har- 
mony and prevent disunion. They did not even deign a 
response. Thus, by their sullen silence, they made confession 
(without avoidance) of their stubborn purpose to hold up no 
hand raised to maintain the Union. . . ." 

But events hastened ; his sovereign state seceded from the 
Union, and Mr. Davis did not hesitate to obey her mandate 
and follow her lead 

On the 20th of January, 1861, he wrote the following ten- 
der letter to his old friend, President Franklin Pierce : 

"Washington, D. C, January 20, 1861. 
"il/?/ Dear Friend: I have often and sadly turned my 
thoughts to you during the troublous times through which we 



216 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

have been passing, and now I come to the hard task of 
announcing to you that the hour is at hand which closes my 
connection with the United States, for the independence and 
union of which my father toiled and in the service of which 
I have sought to emulate the example h« set for my guidance. 
Mississippi, not as a matter of choice, but of necessity, lias 
resolved to enter on the trial of secession. Those who have 
driven her to this alternative threaten to deprive her of the 
right to require that her government shall rest on the consent 
of the governed, to substitute foreign force for domestic sup- 
port, to reduce a State to the condition from which the colony 
rose. . In the attempt to avoid the issue which had been joined 
by the country, the present administration has complicated 
and precipitated the question. Even now, if the duty to * pre- 
serve the public property ' was rationally regarded, the proba- 
ble collision at Charleston would be avoided. Security far 
better than any which the Federal troops can give might be 
obtained, in consideration of the little garrison of Fort Sum- 
ter. If the disavowal of any purpose to coerce South Caro- 
lina be sincere, the possession of a work* to command the har- 
bor is worse than useless. 

" When Lincoln comes in he will have but to continue in 
the path of his predecessor to inaugurate a civil war, and leave 
a soi-disant Democratic administration responsible for the fact. 
General Cushing was here last week, and when he parted it 
seemed like taking a last leave of a brother. 

" I leave immediately for Mississippi, and know not what 
may devolve upon me after my return. Civil war has only 
horror for me, but whatever circumstances may demand shall 
be met as a duty, and I trust be so discharged that you will 
not be ashamed of our former connection or cease to be my 
friend. 

•' Mrs. Davis joins me in kind remembrance to Mrs. Pierce, 
and the expression of the hope that we may yet have you both 
at our country home. Do me the favor to write to me often. 
Address Hurricane P. O., Warren county. Miss. 

May God bless you, is ever the prayer of your friend, 

" President F. Pierce. " Jeff'n Davis." 

The next day he delivered his famous "Farewell to the 
Senate," wliich so fully expresses his views and so ably vindj- 



EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 217 

cates his own course and that of those who acted with him, 
that we give it in full. 

SPEECH OF HON. JEFFERSON DAVIS, ON WITHDRAWING FROM THE 
U. S. SENATE, JAN. 21, 1861. 

" Mr. Davis : I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose of announc- 
ing to the Senate that I have satisfactory evidence that the 
State of Mississippi, by a solemn ordinance of her people, in 
convention assembled, has declared her separation from the 
United States. Under these circumstances, of course, my func- 
tions are terminated here. It has seemed to me proper, however, 
that I should appe.ar in the Senate to announce that fact to my 
associates, and I will say but very little more. The occasion 
does not invite me to go into argument ; and my physical 
condition would not permit me to do so, if otherwise ; and yet 
it seems to become me to say something on the part of a State 
I here represent, on an occasion so solemn as this. 

"It is known to Senators who have served with me here, that 
I have, for many years, advocated, as an essential attribute of 
State sovereignty, the right of a State to secede from the Union. 
Therefore, if I had not believed there was justifiable cause; if 
I had thought that Mississippi w^as acting without sufficient 
provocation, or without an existing necessity, I should still, 
under my theory of the Government, because of my allegiance 
to the State of which I am a citizen, have been bound by her 
action. I, however, may be permitted to say that I do think 
she has justifiable cause, and I approve of her act. I conferred 
with her people before that act was taken, counseled them then 
that if the state of things which they apprehended should exist 
when the convention met, they should take the action which 
they have now adopted. 

"I hope none who hear me will confound this expression of 
mine with the advocacy of the right of a State to remain in the 
Union, and to disregard its constitutional obligations by the 
nullification of the law. Such is not my theory. Nullification 



218 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

and secession, so often confounded, are, indeed, antagonistic 
principles. Nullification is a remedy which it is sought to 
apply within the Union, and against the agent of the States. 
It is only to be justified when the agent has violated his con- 
stitutional obligations, and a State, assuming to judge for 
itself, denies the right of the agent thus to act, and appeals to 
the other States of the Union for a decision ; but when the 
States themselves, and when the people of the States, have so 
acted as to convince us that they will not regard our constitu- 
tional rights, then, and then for the first time, arises the 
doctrine of secession in its practical application. 

"A great man who now reposes with his fathers, and who has 
often been arraigned for a want of fealty to- the Union, advo- 
cated the doctrine of nullification because it preserved the 
Union. It was because of his deep-seated attachment to the 
Union — his determination to find some remedy for existing 
ills short of a severance of the ties which bound South Carolina 
to the other States, that Mr. Calhoun advocated the doctrine 
of nullification, which he proclaimed to be peaceful — to be 
within the limits of State power, not to disturb the Union, but 
only to be a means of bringing the agent before the tribunal 
of the States for their judgment. 

"Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to 
be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There 
was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come 
again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our 
government, and the inalienable rights of the people of the 
States, will prevent any one from denying that each State is a 
sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made 
to any agent whomsoever. 

**I, therefore, say I concur in the action of the people of Mis- 
sissippi, believing it to be necessary and proper, and should 
have been bound by their action if my belief had been other- 
wise; and this brings me to the important point which I vvish> 



EFFORT,^ TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 219 

on this last occasion, to present to the Senate. It is by this 
confounding^ of nullification and secession, that the name of a 
great man, whose ashes now mingle with liis mother earth, 
has been evoked to justify coercion against a seceded State. 
The phrase- *to execute the laws,' was an expression which 
General Jackson applied to the case of a State refusing to obey 
the laws while yet a member of the Union. That is not the 
case which is now presented. The laws are to be executed 
over the United States, and upon the people of the United 
States. They have no relation to any foreign country. It is a 
perversion of terms — at least it is a great misapprehension of 
the case — which cites that expression for application to a State 
which has withdrawn from the Union. You may make 
war on a foreign State. If it be the purpose of gentlemen, 
they make war against a State which has withdrawn from the 
Union; but there are no laws of the United States to be exe- 
cuted within the limits of a seceded State. A State, finding her- 
self in the condition in which Mississippi has judged she is — 
in which her safety requires that she should provide for the 
maintenance of her rights out of the Union — surrenders all 
the benefits (and they are known to be many), deprives her- 
self of the advantages (and they are know to be great), severs 
all the ties of affection (and they are close and enduring), 
which have bound her to the Union ; and thus divesting her- 
self of every benefit — taking upon herself every burden — she 
claims to be exempt from any jjower to execute the laws of the 
United States within her limits. 

"I well remember an occasion when Massachusetts was 
arraigned before the baT of the Senate, and when the doctrine 
of coercion was rife, and to be applied against her, because of 
the rescue of a fugitive slave in Boston. My opinion then was 
the same that it is now. Not in a spirit of egotism, but to 
show that I am not influenced, in my opinion, because the 
case is my own, I refer to that time and that occasion, as con- 



220 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

taining the opinion which I then entertained, and on which 
my present conduct is based. I then said that if Massachu- 
setts, following her through a stated line of conduct, choose to 
take the last step which separates her from the Union, it is her 
right to go, and I will neither vote one dollar nor one man to 
coerce her back; but will say to her, God speed, in memory of 
the kind associations which once existed betv/een her and the 
other States. 

"It has been a conviction of pressing necessity — it has been 
a belief that we are to be deprived, in the Union, of the rights 
which our fathers bequeathed to us — which was brought 
Mississippi into her present decision. She has heard pro- 
claimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, 
and this made the basis of an attack upon her social institu- 
tions; and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been 
invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races. 
The Declaration of Independence is to be construed by the 
circumstances and purposes for which it was made. The com- 
munities were declaring their independence; the people of 
those communities were asserting that no man was born, to 
use the language of Mr. Jefferson-, booted and spurred, to ride 
over the rest of mankind; that men were created equal — mean- 
ing the men of the political community; that there was no 
divine right to rule; that no man inherited the right to govern; 
that there were no classes by which power and j^lace descended 
to families; but that all stations were equally within the grasp 
of each member of the body politic. These were the great 
principles they announced; these were the purposes for which 
they made their declaration ; these were the ends to which 
their enunciation was directed. They have no reference to 
the slave; else, how happened it, that, among the items of 
arraignment against George III, was, that he endeavored to do 
just what the North has been endeavoring of late to do, to stir 
up insurrection among our slaves. Had the Declaration 



EFFOBTS TO PliESEItVE THE VIRION. 221 

announced that the negroes were free and equal, how was the 
prince to be arrainged for raising up insurrection among them? 
And how was this to be enumerated among the high crimes 
which caused the colonies to sever their connection with the 
mother country? When our constitution was formed, the 
same idea was rendered more palpable; for there we find pro- 
vision made for that very class of persons as property ; they 
M^ere not put upon the footing of equality with white men — 
not even upon that of paupers and convicts ; but, so far as 
representation was concerned, were discriminated against as a 
lower caste, only to be represented in the numerical portion of 
three-fifths. 

"Then, Senators, we recur to the compact which binds us 
together; we recur to the principles upon which our govern- 
ment was founded ; and when you deny them, and when you 
deny to us the right to withdraw from a government, which, 
thus perverted, threatens to be destructive of our rights, we 
but tread in the path of our fathers when we proclaim our 
independence, and take the hazard. This is done, not in hos- 
tility to others — not to injure any section of the country — not 
even for our own pecuniary benefit; but from the high and 
solemn motive of defending and protecting the rights we 
inherited, and which it is our duty to transmit unshorn to our 
children. 

"I find in myself, perhaps, a type of the general feeling of 
my constituents toward yours. I am sure I feel no hostility 
toward you. Senators from the North. I am sure there is not 
one of you, whatever sharp discussion there may have been 
between us, to whom I cannot now say, in the presence of my 
God, I wish you well; and such, I am sure, is the feeling of 
the people whom I represent toward those whom you represent. 
I therefore feel that I but express their desire, when I say I 
hope, and they hope, for peaceable relations with you, though 
we must part. They may be mutually beneficial to us in 



222 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

the future, as they have been in the past, if you so will it 
The reverse may bring disaster on every portion of the country; 
and if you will have it thus, we will invoke the God of our 
fathers, who delivered them from the power of the lion, to pro- 
tect us from the ravages of the bear; and thus, putting our 
trust in God, and in our firm hearts and strong arms, we will 
vindicate the right as best we may. 

"In the course of my services here, associated, at different 
times, with a great variety of Senators, I see now around me 
some with whom I have served long; there have been points 
of collision, but whatever of offense there has been to me, I 
leave here — I carry with me no hostile remembrance. What- 
ever offense I have given, which has not been redressed, or for 
which satisfaction has not been demanded, I have, Senators, in 
this hour of our parting, to offer you my apology for any pain 
which, in the heat of discussion, I have inflicted. I go hence 
unincumbered of the remembrance of any injury received, and 
having discharged the duty of making the only reparation in 
my power for any injury offered. 

"j\Ir. President and Senators, having made the announce- 
ment which the occasion seemed to me to require, it only 
remains for me to bid you a final adieu." 



XIIL 

-WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR?" 

"We have borrowed the title of a book by Dr. Albert Taylor 
Bledsoe, which is one of the ablest and [most conclusive argu- 
ments we have ever seen, and which as completely demon- 
strates the negative of this proposition as this distinguished 
professor ever worked out a problem or demonstrated a propo- 
sition to a class in mathematics. 

We cannot, of course, within the proper limits and scope of 
this volume, go into any full discussion of this question. We 
refer the reader rather to Dr. Bledsoe's book, to "The Republic 
of Republics," to A. H. Stephens's "War Between the States," 
to Dr. R. L. Dabney's "Defence of Virginia and the South," 
and especially to Mr. Davis's own great book on " The Rise 
and Fall- of the Confederate Government." 

Instead of our own statement of the case we prefer to give 
what some of our ablest men have said. 

And first we quote the ably expressed views of Benjamin J. 
Williams, Esq., of Massachusetts, as written in 1886, in response 
to some bitter things in some of the Northern papers concern- 
ing the splendid ovation which the people of Alabama and 
Georgia liad recently given their loved ex-President: 

« DIED FOR THEIR STATE." 

By Benjamin J. Williajis, of Massachusetts. 

f Lowell, Mass., Weekly Sun, June 5, 1885.] 

"The communication printed below is from the pen of Mr. 
Benjamin J. Williams, of Lowell, Mass., and treats of a sub- 

[223] 



224 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

ject of deepest interest to the people of this country, North 
and South. It treats of Mr. Jefferson Davis and his connec- 
tion with the Southern Confederacy from a Southern stand- 
point. The writer handles his subject in a manner unfamiliar 
to our readers, who, if they do not agree with the sentiments 
expressed, will at least find it a very interesting and instruc- 
tive communication, particularly at this time. 

" Editor of the Sun : 

" Dear Sir — The demonstrations in the South in honor of 
Mr. Jefferson Davis, the ex-President of the Confederate States, 
are certainly of a remarkable character, and furnish matter 
for profound consideration. Mr. Davis, twenty-one years after 
the fall of the Confederacy, suddenly emerging from his long 
retirement, journeys among his people to different prominent 
points, there to take part in public observances more or less 
directly commemorative, respectively, of the cause of the Con- 
federacy, and of those who strove and died for it, and every- 
where he receives from the people the most overwhelming 
manifestations of heartfelt affection, devotion and reverence, 
exceeding even any of which he was the recipient in the time 
of his power ; such manifestations as no existing ruler in the 
world can obtain from his people, and such as probably were 
never before given to a public man, old, out of office, with no 
favors to dispense, and disfranchised. 

" Such homage is significant, startling. It is given, as Mr. 
Davis himself has recognized, not to him alone, but to the 
cause whose chief representative he is. And it is useless to 
attempt to deny, disguise, or evade the conclusion that there 
must be something great, and noble, and true in him and in 
the cause to evoke this homage. As for Mr. Davis himself, 
the student of American history has not yet forgotten that it 
was his courage, self-possession and leadership, that in the very 
crisis of the battle at Buena Vista won for his country her 
proudest victory upon foreign fields of war ; that as Secretary 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOB? 225 

of War in Mr. Pierce's administration, he was its master-spirit, 
and that lie was tlie recognized leader of the United States 
Senate at the time of the secession of the Southern States. 
For his' character there let it be stated by his enemy but 
admirer, Massachusetts's own Henry Wilson. * The clear- 
headed, practical, dominating Davis,' said Mr. Wilson in a 
speech made during the war, while passing in review the great 
Southern Senators who had withdrawn with their States. 

" When the seceding States formed their new Confederacy, 
in recognition of Mr Davis's varied and predominant abili- 
ties, he was unanimously chosen as its chief magistrate. And 
from the hour of his arrival at Montgomery to assume that 
office, when he spoke the memorable words, * We are deter- 
mined to make all who oppose us smell Southern powder and 
feel Southern steel,' all through the Confederacy's four years' 
unequal struggle for independence down to his last appeal as 
its chief, in his defiant proclamation from Danville, after the 
fall of Richmond, * Let us not despair, my countrymen, but 
meet the foe with fresh defiance, and with unconquered and 
unconquerable hearts,' he exhibited everywhere and always 
the same proud and unyielding spirit, so expressive of his 
sanguine and resolute temper, which no disasters could subdue, 
which sustained him even when it could no longer sustain 
others, and which, had it been possible, would of itself have 
assured the independence of the Confederacy. And when at 
last the Confederacy had fallen, literally overpowered by 
immeasurably superior numbers and means, and Mr. Davis 
was a prisoner, subjected to the grossest indignities, his proud 
spirit remained unbroken, and never since the subjugation of 
his people has he abated in the least his assertion of the cause 
for which they struggled. The seductions of power or interest 
may move lesser men, that matters not to him ; the cause of 
the Confederacy, as a fixed moral and constitutional principle, 
unafi'ected by the triumph of physical force, he asserts to-day 
15 



226 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

as unequivocally as when he was seated in its executive chair 
at Richmond, in apparently irreversible power, with its victo- 
rious legions at his command. Now, when we consider all 
this, what Mr. Davis has been, and most of all, what he is 
to-day in the moral greatness of his position, can we wonder 
that his people turn aside from time-servers and self-seekers, 
and from all the common-place chaff of life, and render to him 
that spontaneous and grateful homage which is his due ? 

" And we cannot, indeed, wonder when we consider the 
cause for which Mr. Davis is so much to his people. Let Mr. 
Davis himself state it, for no one else can do it so well. In 
his recent address at the laying of the corner-stone of the Con- 
federate monument at Montgomery, he said : ' I have come to 
join you in the performance of a sacred task, to lay the founda- 
tion of a monument at the cradle of the Confederate govern- 
ment, which shall commemorate the gallant sons of Alabama 
who died for their country, who gave their lives a free-will 
offering in defence of the rights of their sires, won in the war 
of the Revolution, the State sovereignty, freedom and inde- 
pendence, which were left to us an inheritance to their pos- 
terity forever.' These masterful words, * the rights of their 
sires, won in the war of the Revolution, the State sovereignty, 
freedom and independence, which were left to us as an inherit- 
ance to their posterity forever,' are the whole case, and they 
are not only a statement, but a complete justification of the 
Confederate cause to all who are acquainted with the origin 
and character of the American Union. 

"When the original thirteen colonies threw off their alle- 
giance to Great Britain, they became independent States, 
'independent of her and of each other,' as the great Luther 
Martin expressed it in the Federal convention. This inde- 
pendence was at first a revolutionary one, but afterwards, by 
its recognition by Great Britain, it became legal. Tlic recog- 
nition was of States separately, each by name, in the treaty of 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOBf 227 

peace which terminated the war of the Revolution. And that 
this separate recognition was deliberate and intentional, with the 
distinct object of recognizing the States as separate sovereignties, 
and not as one nation, will sufficiently appear by reference to the 
sixth volume of Bancroft's History of the United States. The 
articles of confederation between the States declared, that 'each 
State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence.' And 
the constitution of the United States, which immediately fol- 
lowed, was first adopted by the States in convention, each State 
casting one vote, as a proposed plan of government; and then 
ratified by the States separately, e^ch State acting for itself in its 
sovereign and independent capacity, through a convention of 
its people. And it was by this ratification that the constitu- 
tion was established, to use its own words, 'between the States 
so ratifying the same,' It is then a compact between the 
States as sovereigns, and the Union created by it is a federal 
partnership of States, the Federal government being their 
common agent for the transaction of the Federal business 
within the limits of the delegated powers. As to the new 
States, which have been formed from time to time from the 
territories, when they were in a territorial condition, the sover- 
eignty over them, respectively, was in the States of the Union, 
and when they, respectively, formed a constitution and State 
government and were admitted into the Union, the sovereignty 
passed to them, respectively, and they stood in the Union each 
upon an equal footing with the original States, parties with 
them to the constitutional compact. 

"In the case of a partnership between persons for business 
purposes, it is a familiar principle of law, that its existence and 
continuance are purely a voluntary matter on the part of 
its members, and that a member may at any time withdraw 
from and dissolve the partnership at his pleasure; and it 
makes no difference in the application of this principle if 
the partnership, by its terms, be for fixed time or perpetual — 



228 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

it not being considered by the law sound policy to hold men 
together in business association against their will. Now if a 
partnership between persons is purely voluntary and subject 
to the will of its members severally, how much more so is one 
between sovereign States; and it follows that, just as each 
State separately, in the exercise of its sovereign will, entered 
the Union, so may it separately, in the exercise of that will, 
"withdraw therefrom. And, further, the constitution being a 
compact, to which the States are parties, 'having no common 
judge,' 'each party has an equal right to judge for itself as 
well of infractions as of the mode and measure of redress,' as 
declared by Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison, in the celebrated 
resolutions of '98, and the right of secession irresistibly fol- 
lows. But aside from the doctrine either of partnership or 
compact, upon the ground of State sovereignty, pure and 
simple, does the right of State secession impregnably rest. 
Sovereignty, as defined by political commentators, is 'the right 
of commanding in the last resort.' And just as a State of 
the Union, in the exercise of this right, by her ratification of 
the constitution, delegated the powers therein given to the 
Federal government, and acceded to the Union; so may she in 
the exercise of the same right, by repealing that ratification, 
withdraw the delegated powers, and secede from the Union. 
The act of ratification by the State is the law which makes the 
Union for it, and the act o(f repeal of that ratification is the law 
which dissolves it, 

" It appears, then, from this view of the origin and char- 
acter of the American Union, that when the Southern States, 
deeming the constitutional compact broken, and their own safety 
and happiness in imminent danger, in the Union, with- 
drew therefrom and organized their new Confederacy, 
they but asserted, in the language of Mr. Davis, 'the rights 
of their sires won in the war of the Revolution, the 
State sovereignty, freedom and independence which were 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOUf 229 

left to us as an inheritance to their posterity forever/ and it 
was in defence of this high and sacred cause that the Confed- 
erate soldiers sacrificed their lives. There was no need for war. 
The action of the Southern States was legal and constitutional, 
and history will attest that it was reluctantly taken in the last 
extremity, in the hope of thereby saving their whole constitu- 
tional rights and liberties from destruction by Northern aggres- 
sion, which had just culminated in triumph at the presidential 
election, by the union of the North as a section against the 
South. But the North, left in possession of the old govern- 
ment of the Union, flushed with power, and angry lest its des- 
tined prey should escape, found a ready pretext for war. 
Immediately upon secession, by force of the act itself, the 
jurisdiction of the seceding States, respectively, over the forts, 
arsenals, and dockyards within their limits, which they had 
before ceded to the federal government for federal purposes, 
reverted to and reinvested in them respectively. They were 
of course entitled to immediate repossession of these j^laces, 
essential to their defence in the exercise of their reassumed 
powers of war and peace, leaving all questions of mere pro* 
perty value apart for separate adjustment. In most casee the 
seceding States repossessed themselves of these places without 
difficulty; but in some the forces of the United States still kept 
possession. Among these last was Fort Sumter, in the harbor of 
Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina in vain demanded 
the peaceful possession of this fortress, offering at the same 
time to arrange for the value of the same as property, and sent 
commissioners to Washington to treat with the Federal govern- 
ment for the same, as well as for the recognition of her inde- 
pendence. But all her attempts to treat were repulsed or 
evaded, as likewise were those subsequently made by the Con- 
federate government. Of course the Confederacy could not 
continue to allow a foreign power to hold possession of a fort- 
ress dominating the harbor of her chief Atlantic seaport: and 



230 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

the Federal government having sent a powerful expedition 
with reinforcements for Fort Sumter, the Confederate govern- 
ment at last proceeded to reduce it. The reduction, however, 
was a bloodless afifair; while the captured garrison received all 
the honors of W'ar, and w^ere at once sent North, with every 
attention to their comfort, and without even their parole being 
taken. 

"But forthwith President Lincoln at Washington issued his 
call for militia to coerce the seceding States-; the cry rang all 
over the North that the flag had been fired upon; and amidst 
the tempest of passion which that cry everywhere raised the 
Northern militia responded with alacrity, the South was 
invaded, and a war of subjugation, destined to be the most 
gigantic which the world has ever seen, was begun by the Fed- 
eral government against the seceding States, in complete and 
amazing disregard of the foundation principle of its own exist- 
ence, as affirmed in the Declaration of Independence, that 
'governments derive their just powers from the consent of the 
governed,' and as established by the war of the Ilevolution for 
the people of the States respectively. The South accepted the 
contest thus forced upon her with the eager and resolute cour- 
age characteristic of her proud-spirited people. But the Fed- 
eral government, though weak in right, was strong in power; 
for it was sustained by the mighty and multitudinous North. 
In effect, the war became one between the States ; between the 
Northern States, represented by the Federal government, upon 
the one side, and the Southern States, represented by the Con- 
federate government, upon the other — the border Southern 
States being divided. 

" The odds in numbers and means in favor of the North 
were tremendous. Her white population of nearly twenty mil- 
lions was fourfold that of the strictly Confederate territory; 
and from the border Southern States and communities of Mis- 
souri, Kentucky, East Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, and 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITORf 231 

Delaware, she got more men and supplies for her armies than 
the Confederacy got for hers. Kentucky alone furnished as 
many men to the Northern armies as Massachusetts. In avail- 
able money and credit, the advantage of the North was vastly 
greater than in population, and it included the possession of 
all the chief centres of banking and commerce. Then she had 
the possession of the old government, its capital, its army and 
navy, and mostly, its arsenals, dockyards, and workshops, with 
all their supplies of arms and ordnance, and military and 
naval stores of every kind and the means of manufacturing 
the same. Again, the North, as a manufacturing and mechan- 
ical people, abounded in factories and workshops of every 
kind, immediately available for the manufacture of every spe- 
cies of supplies for the army and navy; while the South, as 
an agricultural people, were almost wanting in such resources. 
Finally, in the possession of the recognized government, the 
North was in full and free communication with all nations, 
and had full opportunity, which she improved to the utmost, 
to import and bring in from abroad not only supplies of all 
kinds, but men as well for her service; while the South, with- 
out a recognized government, and with her ports speedily 
blockaded by the Federal navy, was almost entirely shut up 
within herself and her own limited resources. 

"Among all these advantages possessed by the North, the first 
the main and decisive, was the navy. Given her all but this 
and they would have been ineffectual to prevent the establish- 
ment of the Confederacy. That arm of her strength was at the 
beginning of the w^ar in an efiicient state, and it was rapidly 
augmented and improved. By it, the South being almost 
wdthout naval force, the North was enabled to sweep and block- 
ade her coasts everywhere, and so, aside from the direct distress 
inflicted, to prevent foreign recognition ; to capture, one after 
another, her seaports ; to sever and out up her country in every 
direction through its great rivers ; to gain lodgments at many 



232 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

points within her territory, from, which numerous destructive 
raids were sent out in all directions ; to transport troops and 
supplies to points where their passage by land would have 
been difficult or impossible ; and finally to cover, protect and 
save, as by the navy was so often done, the defeated and other- 
wise totally destroyed armies of the North in the field. But 
for the navy Grant's army was lost atShiloh ; but for it on the 
Peninsula, in the second year of the war, McClellan's army, 
notwithstanding his masterly retreat from his defeats before 
Richmond, was lost to a man, and the independence of the 
Confederacy established. After a glorious four j'ears' struggle 
against such odds as have been depicted, during which inde- 
pendence was often almost secured, when successive levies of 
armies, amounting in all to nearly three millions of men, had 
been hurled against her, the South, shut off from all the world, 
wasted, rent and desolate, bruised and bleeding, was at last 
overpowered by main strength ; outfought, never ; for, from 
first to last, she everywhere outfought the foe. The Confeder- 
acy fell, but she fell not until she had achieved immortal fame. 
Few great established nations in all time have ever exhibited 
capacity and direction in government equal to hers, sustained 
as she was by the iron will and fixed persistence of the extra- 
ordinary man who was her chief; and few have ever won such 
a series of brilliant victories as that which illuminates forever 
the annals of her splendid armies, while the fortitude and 
patience of her people, and particularly of her noble women, 
under almost incredible trials and sufferings, have never 
been surpassed in the history of the world. 

" Such exalted character and achievement were not all in 
vain. Though the Confederacy fell as an actual physical 
power, she lives illustrated by them, eternally in her just cause, 
the cause of constitutional liberty. And Mr. Davis's Southern 
tour is nothing less than a vertical moral triumph for that 
cause and for himself as its faithful chief, manifesting to the 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 233 

world that the cause still lives in the hearts of the Southern 
people, and that its resurrection in the body in fitting hour 
may yet come. 

"Here, in the North, that is naturally presumptuous and 
arrogant in her vast material power, and where consequently 
but little attention has, in general, been given to the study of 
the nature and principles of constitutional liberty, as connected 
with the rights of States, there is, nevertheless, an increasing 
understanding and appreciation of the Confederate cause, 
particularly here in the New England States, whose position 
and interests in the Union are, in many respects, peculiar, and 
perhaps require that these States, quite as much as those of 
the South, should be the watchful guardians of the State sov- 
ereignty. Mingled with this increasing understanding and 
appreciation of the Confederate cause, naturally comes also a 
growing admiration of its devoted defenders ; and the time 
may yet be when the Northern as well as the Southern heart 
will throb reverently to the proud words upon the Confederate 
monument at Charleston : — 

' These died for their State.' 

" Benj. J. Williams." 

One of the clearest vindications of the South, in brief space, 
which we have seen was from the pen of that scientist of 
world-wide fame. Commodore M. F. Maury, and we quote it in 
full from the Southern Historical Society Papers. Vol. I, pp. 
49-61. 

A VINDICATION OF VIRGINIA AND THE SOUTH. 
By Commodore M. F. Maury. 

" [Note. — The following paper is not the production of a partisan or 
a politician, but of a great scientist wliose fame is world-wide, and 
who«e utterances will have weight among the Nations and in the ages to 
come. 

" This able vindication will derive additional interest and value from 
the statement that it was not written amid the storms of the war, but 
in his quiet mountain home, in May, 1871, not long before the world 
was deprived of his priceless services. It was, in fact, the last thing he 



234 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

ever prepared for the press (the MSS. bears the marks of his final revi- 
sion), and should go on the record as the dying testimony of one whose 
character was above reproach, and whose conspicuous services to the 
cause of science and humanity entitle him to a hearing.] 

" One hundred years ago we were thirteen British Colonies, 
remonstrating and disputing Avith the mother country in dis- 
content. After some years spent in fruitless complaints 
against the policy of the British government toAvards us, the 
colonies resolved to sever their connection with Great Britain, 
that they might be first independent, and then proceed to gov- 
ern themselves in their own way. At the same time they took 
counsel together and made common cause. They declared cer- 
tain truths to be self-evident, and proclaimed the right of every 
people to alter or amend their forms of government as to them- 
may seem fit. They pronounced this right an inalienahle right, 
and declared ' that when a long train of abuses and usurpations 
evinces a design on the part of the government to reduce a peo- 
ple to absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to 
throw off such government.' In support of these declarations 
the people of that day, in the persons of their representatives, 
pledging themselves, their fortunes and their sacred honor, 
went to war, and in the support of their cause appealed to 
Divine Providence for protection. Under these doctrines we 
and our fathers grew up, and we were taught to regard them 
with a reverence almost holy, and to believe in them with quite 
a religious belief. 

" In the war that ensued, the colonies triumphed; and in the 
treaty of peace. Great Britain acknowledged each one of her 
revolted colonies to be a nation, endowed with all the attributes 
of sovereignty, independent of her, of each other and of all 
other temporal powers whatsoever. These new-born nations 
were New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- 
cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — thirteen 
in all. 

" At that time all the country west of the Alleghany moun- 
tains was a wilderness. All that part of which lies north of 
the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi, called the Northwest 
Territory, and out of which the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, Wisconsin and a part of Minnesota have since been 
carved, belonged to Virginia. She exercised dominion over it, 
and in her resided the rights of undisputed sovereignty. These 
thirteen powers, which were then as independent of each other 
as France is of Spain, or Brazil is of Peru, or as any other nation 
can be of another, concluded to unite and form a compact, 
called the constitution, the main objects of which were toestab- 



WAS DA VIS A TRAITOB f 235 

lish justice, secure domestic tranquility, provide for the com- 
mon defence, and promote the general welfare. To this end 
they established a vicarious government, and named it the 
United States. This instrument had for its corner-stone the 
aforementioned inalienable rights. With the assertion of these 
precious rights — which are so dear to the hearts of all true Vir- 
ginians — fresh upon their lips, each one of these thirteen States, 
signataries to this compact, delegated to this new government 
so much of her own sovereign powers as were deemed necessary 
for the accomplishment of its objects, reserving to herself all 
the powers, prerogatives and attributes not specifically granted 
or specially enumerated. Nevertheless, Virginia, through abun- 
dant caution, when she fixed her seal to this constitution, did 
so with the express declaration, in behalf of her people, that 
the powers granted under it might be resumed by them when- 
ever the same should be perverted to their injury or oppression ; 
that ' no right, of any denomination, can be canceled, abridged, 
restrained or modified by the Congress, by the Senate or House 
of Representatives, acting in any capacity, by the President, or 
any department, or officer of the United States, except in those 
instances in which power is given by the constitution for those 
purposes.' AVith this agreement, with a solemn appeal to the 
' Searcher of all hearts ' for the purity of their intentions, our 
delegates, in the name and in behalf of the people of Virginia, 
proceeded to accept and to ratify the constitution for the 
government of the United States.* Thus the government at 
Washington was created. 

" But it did not go into operation until the other States — par- 
ties to the contract — had accepted by their act of signature and 
tacit agreement the conditions which Virginia required to be 
understood as the terms on which she accepted the constitution 
and agreed to become one of the United States. Thus these 
conditions became, to all intents and purposes, a part of that 
instrument itself; for it is a rule of law and a principle of 
right laid down, well understood and universally acknowledged, 
that if, in a compact between several parties, any one of them 
be permitted to enter into it on a condition, that condition 
enures alike to the benefit of all. 

" Notwithstanding the purity of motive and singleness of pur- 
pose which moved Virginia to become one of the United States, 
sectional interests were developed, and the seeds of faction, 
strife and discord appeared in the very convention which 
adopted the constitution. At that time African negroes were 
bought and sold, and held in slavery in all the States. They 

• * Proceeding ol the Virginia ConvenUon, 1788. p. 28. Code of Virginia, 1S60. 



236 THE J) AVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

had been brought here by the Crown and forced upon Virginia 
when she was in the colonial state, in sj^ite of her oft-repeated 
petitions and remonstrances against it; and now since she, 
with others, were independent and masters of themselves, they 
desired to put an end forthwith to this traffic. To this the 
North objected, on the ground that her people were extensively 
engaged in kidnapping in Africa and transporting slaves thence 
for sale to Southern planters. They had, it was added, such 
interests at stake in this business that twenty years would be 
required to wind it up. At that time the political balance 
between the sections was equal ; and the South, to pacify the 
North, agreed that the new government should have no power, 
until after twenty years should have elapsed, to restrict their 
traffic ; and thus the North gained a lease and a right to fetch 
slaves from Africa into the South till 1808. That year, one of 
Virginia's own sons being President of the United States, an 
act was passed forbidding a continuance of the traffic, and 
declaring the further prosecution of it piracy. 

" Virginia was the leader in the war of the Revolution, and 
her sons were the master-spirits of it, both in the field and in 
the cabinet. For an entire generation after the establishment 
of the government under the constitution, four of her sons — 
Avith an interregnum of only four years — were called, one after 
the other, to preside, each for a period of eight years, over the 
affairs of the young Republic and to shape its policy. In the 
meantime Virginia gave to the new government the whole 
of her northwest territory, to be held by it intrust for the ben- 
efit of all the States alike. Under the wise rule of her illus- 
trious sons in the presidential chair, the Republic grew and its 
citizens flourished and prospered as no people had ever done. 

*' During this time, the African slave-trade having ceased, 
the price of negroes rose in the South ; then the Northern peo- 
ple discovered that it would be better to sell their slaves to the 
South than to hold them, whereupon acts of so-called emanci- 
pation were passed in the North. They were prospective, and 
were to come in force after the lapse, generally, of twenty 
years,* which allowed the slaveholders among them ample time 
to fetch their negroes down and sell them to our people. This 
many of them did, and the North got rid of her slaves, not so 
much by emancipation or any sympathy for the blacks as by 
sale, and in consequence of her greed. 

"About this time also Missouri — into which the earlier set- 
tlers had carried their slaves — applied for admission into the 
Union as a State. The North opposed it, on the ground that 

♦Slavery did not cease iu New York till 1827. 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 237 

slavery existed tliere. The South appealed to the constitution, 
called for the charter which created the Federal government, 
and asked for the clause which gave Congress the power to 
interfere with the domestic institution.^ of any State or with 
any of her affairs, further than to see that her organic law 
insured a republican form of government to her people. Nay, 
she appealed to the force of treaty obligations ; and reminded 
the North that in the treaty with France for the acquisition of 
Louisiana, of which Missouri was a part, the public faith was 
pledged to protect the French settlers there, and their descen- 
dants, in their rights of property, which includes slaves. The 
public mind became excited, sectional feelings ran high, and 
the Union was in danger of being broken up through Northern 
aggression and Congressional usurpations at that early day. To 
quiet the storm, a son of Virginia came forward as peace-maker, 
and carried through Congress a bill that is known as ' The 
Missouri compromise.' So the danger was averted. This bill, 
however, was a concession, simple and pure, to the North on the 
part of the South, with no equivalent whatever, except the grat- 
ification of a patriotic desire to live in harmony with her sister 
States and preserve the Union. This compromise was to the 
effect that the Southern people should thereafter waive their 
right to go with their slaves into any part of the common ter- 
ritory north of the parallel of 36° 30. Thus was surrendered 
up to the North for settlement, at her own time and in her own 
way, more than two-thirds of the entire public domain, with 
equal rights with the South in the remainder. 

" That posterity may fairly appreciate the extent of this exac- 
tion by the North, with the sacrifice made by the South to sat- 
isfy it, maintain the public faith and preserve the Union, it is 
necessary to refer to a map of the country, and to remember 
that at that time neither Texas, New Mexico, California nor 
Arizona belonged to the United States ; that the country west 
of the Mississippi which fell under that compromise is that 
which was acquired from France in the purchase of Louisiana, 
and which includes West Minnesota, the whole of Iowa, Arkan- 
sas, the Indian Territory, Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, Mon- 
tana, Wyoming, Colorada, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington 
and Oregon, embracing an area of 1,360,000 square miles. Of 
this the South had the privilege of settling Arkansas alone, or 
less than four per cent, of the whole. The sacrifice thus made 
by the South, for the sake of the Union, will be more fully 
appreciated when we reflect that under the constitution South- 
ern gentlemen had as much right, and the same right to go 
into the territories with their slaves, that men of the North had 



238 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

to carry Avith them there their apprentices and servants. Though 
this arrangement was so prejudicial to the South, though the Su- 
preme Court decided it to be unconstitutional, null and void, the 
Southern people were still willing to stand by it ; but the North 
would not. Backed by maiorities in Congress, she only became 
more and more aggressive. Furthermore, the magnificent coun- 
try given by Virginia to the Union came to be managed in the 
political interests of the North. It was used for the encourage- 
ment of European emigration, and its settlement on her side of 
that parallel, while the idea was sought to be impressed abroad 
by false representations that south of 36° 30" in this country 
out-door labor is death to the white man, and that throughout 
the South generally labor was considered degrading. Such was 
the rush of settlers from abroad to the polar side of 36? 30" and 
for the cheap and rich lands of the northwest territory, that 
the population of the North was rapidly and vastly increased — 
so vastly that when the war of 1861 commenced, the immigrants 
and the descendants of immigrants which the two sections had 
received from the Old World since this grant was made, 
amounted to not less than 7,000,000 souls more for the North 
than for the South. This increase destroyed the balance of 
power between the sections in Congress, placed the South hope- 
lessly in the minority, and gave the reins of the government 
over into the hands of the Northern factions. Thus the two 
hundred and seventy millions of acres of the finest land on the 
continent which Virginia gave to the government to hold in 
trust as a common fund, was so managed as greatly to benefit 
one section and do the other harm. Nor was this all. Large 
grants of land, amounting to many millions of acres, were 
made from this domain to certain Northern States, for their 
railways and other works of internal improvement, for their 
schools and corporations ; but not an acre to Virginia. 

"In consequence of the Berlin and Milan decrees, the orders 
in council, the embargo and the war which followed in 1812, 
the people of the whole country suffered greatly for the want of 
manufactured articles, many of which had become neces- 
saries of life. Moreover it was at that time against the laws of 
England for any artisan or piece of machinery used in her 
workshops to be sent to this country. Under these circum- 
stances it was thought wise to encourage manufacturing in New 
England, until American labor could be educated for it, and 
the requisite skill acquired, and Southern statesmen took the 
lead in the passage of a tariff to encourage and protect our 
manufacturing industries. But in course of time these restric- 
tive laws in England were repealed, and it then became easier 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 239 

to import than to educate labor and skill. Nevertheless, the 
protection continued, and was so effectual that the manufac- 
turers of New England began to compete in foreign markets 
with the manufacturers of Old England. Whereupon the 
South said, ' Enough : the North has free trade with us ; the 
Atlantic ocean rolls between this country and Europe; the 
expense of freight and transportation across it, with moderate 
duties for revenue alone, ought to be protection enough for these 
Northern industries. Therefore, let us do away with tariffs for 
jirotection. They have not, by reason of geographical law, 
turned a wheel in the South ; moreover, they have proved a 
grievous burden to our people.' Northern statesmen did not 
see the case in that light; but fairness, right, and the consti- 
tution were on the side of the South. She pointed to the 
unfair distribution of the public lands, the unequal dispensation 
among the States of the government favor and patronage, and 
to the fact that the New England manufacturers had gained a 
firm footing and were flourishing. Moreover, peace, progress, 
and development had, since the end of the French wars, dic- 
tated free trade as the true policy of all nations. Our Sena- 
tors proceeded to demonstrate by example the hardships of 
submitting any longer to tariffs for protection. The example 
was to this effect : — The Northern farmer , clips his hundred 
bales of wool, and the Southern planter picks his hundred 
bales of cotton. So far they are equal, for the government 
affords to each equal protection in person and property. That's 
fair, and there is no complaint. But the government would 
not stop here. It went further — protected this industry of one 
section and taxed that of the other ; for though it suited the 
farmer's interest and convenience to send his wool to a New 
England mill to have it made into cloth, it also suited in a like 
degree the Southern planter to send his cotton to Old England 
to have it made into calico. And now came the injustice and the 
grievance. They both prefer the Charleston market, and they 
both, the illustration assumed, arrived by sea the same day and 
proceeded together, each with his invoice of one hundred bales, 
to the custom-house. There the Northern man is told that he 
may land his one hundred bales duty free ; but the Southern 
man is required to leave forty of his in the custom-house for 
the privilege of landing the remaining sixty.* It was in vain 
for the Southerner to protest or to urge, ' You make us pay boun- 
ties to Northern fishermen under the plea that it is a nursery 
for seamen. Is not the fetching and carrying of Southern cot- 
ton across the sea in Southern ships as much a nursery for 

*The tariff at that time was forty per cent. 



240 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

seamen as the catching of codfish in Yankee smacks? But 
instead of allowing us a bounty for this, you exact taxes and 
require protection for our Northern fellow-citizens at the expense 
of Southern industry and enterprise.' The complaints against 
the tariff were at the end of ten or twelve years followed by 
another compromise in the shape of a modified tariff, by which 
the South again gained nothing and the North everything. 
The effect was simply to lessen^ not to abolish, the tribute money 
exacted for the benefit of Northern industries. 

'' Fifteen years before the war it was stated officially from the 
treasury department in Washington, that under the tariff then 
in force the self-sustaining industry of the country was taxed 
in this indirect way in the sum of $80,000,000 annually, none 
of which went into the coffers of the government, but all into 
the pocket of the protected manufacturer. The South, more- 
over, complained of the unequal distribution of the public 
expenditures; of unfairness in protecting, buoying, light- 
ing, and surveying the coasts, and laid her complaints on 
grounds like these : for every mile of sea front in the North 
there are four in the South, yet there were four well-equipped 
dock-yards in the North to one in the South ; large sums of 
money had been expended for Northern, small for Southern 
defenses; navigation of the Southern coast was far more diffi- 
cult and dangerous than that of the Northern, yet the latter 
was better lighted; and the Southern coast was not surveyed 
by the government until it had first furnished Northern ship- 
owners with good charts for navigating their waters and enter- 
ing their harbors. 

" Thus dealt by, there was cumulative dissatisfaction in the 
Southern mind towards the Federal government, and Southern 
men began to ask each other, ' Should Ave not be better off out 
of the Union than we are in it?' — nay, the public discontent 
rose to such a pitch in consequence of the tariff, that nullifi- 
cation was threatened, and the existence of the Union was 
again seriously imperilled, and dissolution might have ensued 
had not Virginia stepped in with her wise counsels. She 
poured oil upon the festering sores in the Southern mind, and 
did what she could in the interests of peace ; but the wound 
could not be entirely healed ; Northern archers had hit too deep. 

" The Washington government was fast drifting towards cen- 
tralization and the result of all this Federal partiality, of this 
unequal protection and encouragement, was that New England 
and the North flourished and prospered as no people have ever 
done in modern times. Scenes enacted in the Old World, 
twenty-eight hundred years ago, seemed now on the eve of repe- 



WAS DAVJS A TRAITOR? 241 

tition in the new. About the year 915 B. C, the twelve tribes 
conceived the idea of making themselves a great nation by 
centralization. They established a government which, in 
three generations, by reason of similar burdens upon the peo- 
ple, ended in permanent separation. Solomon taxed heavily 
to build the temple and dazzle the nation with the splendor of 
his capital ; his expenditures were profuse, and he made his 
name and kingdom fill the world with their renown. He died 
one hundred years after Saul was annointed, and then Jerusa- 
lem and the temple being finished, the ten tribes — supposing 
the necessity of further taxation had ceased — petitioned Reho- 
boam for a reduction of taxes, a repeal of the tariff. Their 
petition was scorned, and the world knows the result. The ten 
tribes seceded in a body, and there was war; so thus there re- 
mained to the house of David only the tribes of Benjamin and 
Judah. They, like the North, had received the benefit of this 
taxation. The chief part of the enormous expenditures was 
made within their borders, and they, like New England, flour- 
ished and prospered at the expense of their brethren. 

" By the constitution, a citizen of the South had a right to 
pursue his fugitive slave into any of the States, apprehend and 
bring him back; but so unfriendly had the North become 
towards the South, and so regardless of her duties under the 
constitution, that Southern citizens^ in pursuing and attempt- 
ing to apprehend runaway negroes in the North, were thrown 
into jail, maltreated and insulted despite of their rights. North- 
ern people loaded the mails for the South with inflammatory 
publications inciting the negroes to revolt, and encouraging 
them to rise up, in servile insurrection, and murder their own- 
ers. Like tampering with the negroes was one among the causes 
which led Virginia into her original proposition to the other 
colonists, that they should all, for the common good and com- 
mon safety, separate themselves from Great Britain and strike 
for independent existence. In a resolution unanimously adopted 
in convention for a declaration of such independence, it is urged 
that the King's representative in Virginia was 'tempting our 
slaves by every artifice to resort to lum, and training and em- 
ploying them againsttheirmasters.'* To counteract this attempt 
by the New England people to do the like, the legislature of 
Virginia and other Southern States felt themselves constrained 
to curtail the privileges of the slave, to increase the patrol, and 
for the public safety to enact severe laws against the black man. 
This grated upon the generous feelings of our people the more, 

*Ilesnliitions of Virsriilia for a Declaration ot Inclepciideuce, unaiiitaously adopted 15tll 
May, 1771J. rage 1, CoJc of Virginia, 16C0. . - 

16 



242 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

because they were thus compelled in self-defence to spread hate- 
ful laws upon the statute-book of their State, and subject her 
fair fame to invidious criticisms by posterity, and this in con- 
sequence of the repeated attempt of the Northern people to 
tamper with the negroes and interfere with our domestic affairs. 
It was a shaft that sank deep and rankled long; it brought to 
mind colonial times, and put into Southern heads the idea of 
another separation. But this was not all. Societies were formed 
in the North to encourage our negroes to escape and to harbor 
the runaways ; emissaries came down to inveigle them away ; 
and while they were engaged at this, the Northern States 
aided and abetted by passing acts prohibiting their officers 
to assist the Southern citizen in the capture of runaways, and 
hindering him from doing it himself. At length things came to 
such a pass that a Southern gentleman, notwithstanding his 
right, dared not when he went to the North, either on business 
or pleasure, to carry with him, as he formerly did, a body ser- 
vant. More harsh still — delicate mothers and emaciated in- 
valids with their nurses, though driven from their Southern 
homes, as they often are, by pestilence or plague, dared not 
seek refuge in the more bracing climates of the North ; they 
were liable to be molDbed and to see their servants taken away 
by force, and when that was done, they found that Northern 
laws afforded no protection. In short, our people had no longer 
equal rights in a common country. 

" Finally, the aggressive and fanatical spirit of the North ran 
to such a pitch against us, that just before the Southern people 
began to feel that patience and forbearance were both exhausted, 
a band of raiders, fitted out and equipped in the North, came 
down upon Virginia with sword and spear in hand. They com- 
menced in the dead of night to murder our citizens, to arm the 
slaves, encouraging them to rise up, burn and rob, kill and slay 
throughout the South. The ringleader was caught, tried, and 
hung. Northern people regarded him as a martyr in a right- 
eous cause. His body was carried to the North; they paid 
homage to his remains, sang pseans to his memory, and amidst 
jeers and taunts for Virginia, which to this day are reverberated 
through the halls of Congress, enrolled his name as one who 
had deserved well of his country. 

"These acts were highly calculated to keep the Southern mind 
in a feverish state and in an unfriendly mood ; and there were 
other influences at work to excite sectional feelings and beget 
just indignation among the Southern people. The North was 
commercial, the South agricultural. Through their fast-sailing 
packets and steamers, Northern people were in constant com- 



WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR? 243 

munication with foreign nations; the South rarely, except 
through the North. Northern men and Northern society took 
advantage of this circumstance to our prejudice. They de- 
famed the South and abused the European mind with libels 
and slanders and evil reports against us of a heinous character. 
They represented Southern people as a lawless and violent set, 
where men and women were without shame. They asserted, 
with all the effrontery of impudent falsehood, that the chief 
occupation of the gentlemen of Virginia was the breeding of 
slaves like cattle for the more Southern markets. To this day the 
whole South IS suffering under this defamation of character; 
for it is well known that emigrants from Europe now refuse to 
come and settle in Virginia and the South on account of their 
belief in the stories against us with which their minds have 
been poisoned. 

" This long list of grievances does not end here. The popu- 
lation of the North had, by reason of the vast numbers of for- 
eigners that had been induced to settle there, become so great 
that the balance of power in Congress was completely destroj^ed. 
The Northern people became more tyrannical in their disposi- 
tion, Congress more aggressive in their policy. In every branch 
of the government the South was in a hopeless minority, and 
completely at the mercy of an unscrupulous majority for their 
rights in the Union. Emboldened by their popular majorities 
on the hustings, the master spirits of the North now pro- 
claimed the approach of an 'irrepressible conflict' with the 
South, and their representative men in Congress preached 
the doctrine of a 'higher law,' confessing that the policy 
about to be pursued in relation to Southern affairs was dic- 
tated by a rule of conduct unknown to the constitution, not 
contained in the bible, but sanctioned, as they said, by some 
higher law than the bible itself. Thus finding ourselves at the 
mercy of faction and fanaticism, the presidential election for 
1860 drew nigh. The time for putting candidates in the field 
was at hand. The North brought out their candidate, and by 
their platform pledged him to acts of unfriendly legislation 
against us. The South warned the North and protested, the 
political leaders in some of the Southern States publicly declar- 
ing that if Mr. Lincoln, their nominee, were elected, the States 
would not remain in the Union. He was truly a sectional can- 
didate. He received no vote in the South, but was, under the 
provision of the constitution, duh' elected nevertheless ; for now 
the poll of the North was large enough to elect whom she pleased. 

" When the result of this election was announced. South Caro- 
lina and the Gulf States each proceeded to call a convention of 



244 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, 

her people ; and they, in the exercise of their inaliendhle right to 
alter and abolish the form of government and to institute a 
new one, resolved to withdraw from the Union 2^<^ciceably, if they 
could. They felt themselves clear as to their right, and thrice- 
armed ; for they remembered that they were sovereign people, 
and called to mind those precious rights that had been sol- 
emnly proclaimed, and in which and for w'hich we and our 
fathers before us had the most abiding faith, reverence and 
belief. Prominent among these was, as we have seen, the right 
of each one of these States to consult her own welfare and with- 
draw or remain in the Union in obedience to its dictates and 
the judgment of her own people. So they sent commissioners 
to Washington to propose a settlement, the Confederate States 
offering to assume their quota of the debt of the United States, 
and asking for their share of the common property. This was 
refused. 

"In the meantime Virginia assembled her people in grand 
council too ; but she refused to come near the Confederate States 
in their councils. She had laid the corner-stone of the Union, 
her sons were its chief architects; and though she felt that she 
and her sister States had been wronged without cause, and had 
reason, good and sufficient, for withdrawing from a political 
association which no longer afforded domestic tranquility, or 
promoted the general welfare, or answered its purposes, yet her 
love for the Union and the constitution was strong, and the idea 
of pulling down, without having first exhausted all her persua- 
sives, and tried all means to save what had cost her so much, was 
intolerable. She thought the time for separation had not come, 
and waited first to try her own ' mode and measure of redress ;' 
she considered that it should not be such as the Confeder- 
ate States had adopted. Moreover, by standing firm she hoped 
to heal the breach, as she had done on several occasions before. 
She asked all the States to meet her in a peace congress. They 
did so, and the North being largely in the majority, threw out 
Southern propositions and rejected all the efforts of Virginia 
at conciliation. North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas all 
remained in the Union, awaiting the action of our State, who 
urged the V/ashington government not to attempt to coerce the 
seceded States, or force them with sword and bayonet back into 
the Union — a thing, she held, which the charter that created 
the government gave it no authority to do. 

*' Regardless of these wise counsels and of all her rightful 
poAvers, the North mustered an army to come against the 
South ; whereupon, seeing the time had come, and claiming 
the right which she had especially reserved not only for her- 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 245 

eelf, but for all the States, to withdraw from the Union, the 
grand old Commonwealth did not hesitate to use it. She pre- 
pared to meet the emergency. Her people had already been 
assembled in convention, and they, in the persons of their 
representatives, passed the Ordinance op Secession, which 
separated her from the North and South, and left her 
alone, again a free, sovereign and independent State. This 
done, she sounded the notes of warlike preparation. She called 
upon her sons who were in the service of the Washington gov- 
ernment to confess their allegiance to her, resign their places, 
and rally around her standard. The true men among them 
came. In a few days she had an army of 60,000 men in the 
field ; but her policy was still peace, armed peace, not war. 
Assuming the attitude of defence, she said to the powers of the 
North, ' Let no hostile foot cross my borders.' Nevertheless 
they came with fire and sword; battle was joined; victory 
crowned her banners on many a well-fought field ; but she and 
her sister States cut off from the outside world by the navy 
which they had helped to establish for the common defence, 
battled together against fearful odds at home for four long 
years, but were at last overpowered by mere numbers, and then 
came disaster. Her sons who fell died in defence of their coun- 
try, their homes, their rights, and all that makes native land 
dear to the hearts of men." 

We next give the famous "Botetourt Resolutions,^' prepared 
by the able and accomplished Judge John J. Allen, of the Vir- 
ginia Supreme Court, and deserving to rank among the classics 
of political literature. 

PREAMBLE AND BESOLUTION. 

Offered in a large mass meeting of tlie people of Botetourt County, 
December 10th, 1860, by the Hon. John J. Allen, President of the 
Supreme Court of Virginia, and adopted with but two dissenting 
voices. 

" The people of Botetourt county, in general meeting assem- 
bled, believe it to be the duty of all the citizens of the Com- 
monwealth, in the present alarming condition of our country, 
to give some expression of their opinion upon the threatening 
aspect of public atfairs. They deem it unnecessary and out of 
place to avow sentiments of loyalty to the constitution and 
devotion to the Union of these States. A brief reference to the 
part the State has acted in the past will furnish the best evi- 
dence of the feelings of her sons in regard to the Union of the 



246 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

States and the constitution, which is the sole bond which binds 
them together. 

" In the controversies with the mother country growing out 
of the efforts of the latter to tax the colonies without their con- 
sent, it was Virginia who, by the resolutions against the stamp 
act, gave the example of the first authoritative resistance by a 
legislative body to the British government, and so imparted the 
first impulse to the Revolution. 

" Virginia declared her independence before any of the colo- 
nies, and gave the first written constitution to mankind. 

"By her instructions her representatives in the General Con- 
gress introduced a resolution to declare the colonies indepen- 
dent States, and the declaration itself was written by one of 
her sons. 

"She furnished to the Confederate States the father of his 
country, under whose guidance independence was achieved, and 
the rights and liberties of each State, it was hoped, perpetually 
established. 

" She stood undismayed through the long night of the Revo- 
lution, breasting the storm of war and pouring out the blood of 
her sons like water on almost every battle-field, from the ram- 
parts of Quebec to the sands of Georgia. 

" By her own unaided efforts the northwestern territory was 
conquered, whereby the Mississippi, instead of the Ohio river, 
was recognized as the boundary of the United States by the 
treaty of peace. 

" To secure harmony, and as an evidence of her estimate of 
the value of the Union of the States, she ceded to all for their 
common benefit this magnificent region — an empire in itself. 

" When the articles of confederation were shown to be inade- 
quate to secure peace and tranquility at home and respect 
abroad, Virginia first moved to bring about a more perfect Union. 

" At her instance the first assemblage of commissioners too*k 
place at Annapolis, which ultimately led to the meeting of the 
convention which formed the present constitution. 

" This instrument itself was in a great measure the produc- 
tion of one of her sons, who has been justly styled the father of 
the constitution. 

" The government created by it was put into operation with 
her Washington, the father of his country, at its head ; her 
Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, in his 
cabinet; her Madison, the great advocate of the constitution, 
in the legislative hall. 

" Under the leading of Virginia statesmen the Revolution of 
1798 was brought about, Louisiana was acquired, and the sec- 
ond war of ifldependence was waged. 



WAS DAVJS A TBAITOEf 247 

" Throughout the whole progress of the Republic she has 
never infringed on the rights of any State, or asked or received 
any exclusive benefit. 

" On the contrary, she has been the first to vindicate the 
equality of all the States, the smallest as well as the greatest. 

" But claiming no exclusive benefit for her efforts and sacri- 
fices in the common cause, she had a right to look for feelings 
of fraternity and kindness for her citizens from the citizens of 
other States, and equality of rights for her citizens with all 
others; that those for whom she had done so much would 
abstain from actual aggressions upon her soil, or if they could 
not be prevented, would show themselves ready and prompt in 
punishing the aggressors ; and that the common government, 
to the promotion of which she contributed so largely for the 
purpose of 'establishing justice and insuring domestic tran- 
quility,' would not, whilst the forms of the constitution were 
observed, be so perverted in spirit as to inflict wrong and injus- 
tice and produce universal insecurity. 

" These reasonable expectations have been greviously disap- 
pointed. 

" Owing to a spirit of pharasaical fanaticism prevailing in 
the North in reference to the institution of slavery, incited by 
foreign emissaries and fostered by corrupt political demagogues 
in search of power and place, a feeling has been aroused between 
the people of the two sectioas, of what was once a common 
country, which of itself would almost preclude the adminis- 
tration of a united government in harmony. 

" For the kindly feelings of a kindred people we find substi- 
tuted distrust, suspicion and mutual aversion. 

" For a common pride in the name of American, we find one 
section even in foreign lands pursuing the other with revilings 
and reproach. 

"For the religion of a Divine Redeemer of all, we find a 
religion of hate against a part ; and in all the private relations 
of life, instead of fraternal regard, a 'consuming hate/ which 
has but seldom characterized warring nations. 

" This feeling has prompted a hostile incursion upon our 
own soil, and an apotheosis of the murderers, who were justly 
condemned and executed. 

"It has shown itself in the legislative halls by the passage 
of laws to obstruct a law of Congress passed in pursuance of a 
plain provision of the constitution. 

" It has been manifested by the industrious circulation of 
incendiary publications, sanctioned by leading men, occupying 
the highest stations ja the gift of the people, to produce discord 



248 THE DA VIS MEMOllIAL VOL VME. 

and division in our midst, and incite to midnight murder and 
every imaginable atrocity against an unoffending community. 

"It has displayed itself in a persistent denial of the equal 
rights of the citizens of each State to settle with their property 
in the common territory acquired by the blood and treasure of all. 

" It is shown in their openly avowed determination to cir- 
cumscribe the institution of slavery within the territory of the 
States now recognizing it, the inevitable etfect of which would 
be to fill the present slaveholdiug States with an ever increas- 
ing negro population, resulting in the banishment of our own 
non-slaveiiolding population in the first instance, and the 
eventual surrender of our country to a barbarous race, or, what 
seems to be desired, an amalgamation with the African. 

" And it has at last culminated in the election, by a sectional 
majority of the free States alone, to the first office in the repub- 
lic, of the author of the sentiment that there is an ' irrepressi- 
ble conflict ' between free and slave labor, and that there must 
be universal freedom or universal slavery; a sentiment which 
inculcates, as a necessity of our situation, warfare between the 
two sections of our country without cessation or intermission 
until the w^eaker is reduced to subjection. 

" In view of this state of things, we are not inclined to 
rebuke or censure the people of any of our sister States of the 
South, suffering from injury, goaded by insults, and threatened 
with such outrages and wrongs, for their bold cletermination to 
relieve themselves irom such injustice and oppression, by resort- 
ing to their ultimate and sovereign right to dissolve the com- 
pact which they had formed and to provide new guards for their 
future security, 

^' Nor have w^e any doubt of the right of any State, there 
being no common umpire between coequal sovereign States, to 
judge for itself on its own responsibility, as to the mode and 
measure of redress. 

" The States, each for itself, exercised this sovereign power 
when they dissolved their connection with the British Empire. 

"They exercised the same power w^hen nine of the States 
seceded from the confederation and adopted the present consti- 
tution, though two States at first rejected it. 

" The articles of confederation stipulated that those articles 
should be inviolably observed by every State, and that the 
Union should be perpetual, and that no alteration should be 
made unless agreed to by Congress and confirmed by every 
State. 

" Notwithstanding this solemn compact, a portion of the 
States did, wdthout the consent of the others, form a new com- 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 24S 

pact; and there is nothing to show, or by which it can be 
shown, that this right has been, or can be, diminished so long 
as the States continue sovereign. 

" The confederation was assented to by the legislature for each 
State; the constitution by the people of each State of such 
State alone. One is as binding as the other, and no more so. 
" The constitution, it is true, established a government, and 
it operates directly on the individual ; the confederation was a 
league operating primarily on the States. But each was adopted 
by the State for itself; in the one case by the legislature acting 
for the State ; in the other ' by the people not as individuals 
composing one nation, but as composing the distinct and inde- 
pendent States to which they respectively belong.' 

"The foundation, therefore, on which it was established was 
federal, and the State, in the exercise of the same sovereign 
authority by which she ratified for herself, may for herself 
abrogate and annul. 

"The operation of its power, whilst the State remains in the 
Confederacy, is national; and consequently a State remaining 
in the Confederacy and enjoying its benefits cannot, by any 
mode of procedure, withdraw its citizens from the obligation to 
obey the constitution and the laws passed in pursuance thereof. 
"But when a State does secede, the constitution and laws 
of the United States cease to operate therein. No power is 
conferred on Congress to enforce them. Such authority was 
denied to the Congress in the convention which framed the 
constitution, because it would be an act of war of nation against 
nation — not the exercise of the legitimate power of a govern- 
ment to enforce its laws on those subject to its jurisdiction. 

" The assumption of such a power would be the assertion of 
a prerogative claimed by the British government to legislate 
for the colonies in all cases whatever; it would constitute of 
itself a dangerous attack on the rights of the States, and should 
be promptly repelled. 

" These principles, resulting from the nature of our system 
of confederate States, cannot admit of question in Virginia. 

"Our people in convention, by their act of ratification, de- 
clared and made known that the powers granted under the con- 
stitution being derived from the people of the United States, 
may be resumed by them whenever they shall be perverted to 
their injury and oppression. 

" From what people were these powers derived? Confessedly 
from the people of each State, acting for themselves. By whom 
were they to be resumed or taken back? By the people of the 
State who were then granting them away. Who were to deter- 



250 TRE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

mine whether the powers granted had been perverted to their 
injury or oppression ? Not the whole people of the United 
States, for there could be no oppression of the whole with their 
own consent; and it could not have entered into the conception 
of the convention that the powers granted could not be resumed 
until the oppressor himself united in such resumption. 

" They asserted the right to resume in order to guard the 
people of Virginia, for whom alone the convention could act, 
against the oppression of an irresponsible and sectional major- 
ity, the worst form of oppression with which an angry Provi- 
dence has ever afflicted humanity. 

" Whilst, therefore, W'e regret that any State should, in a mat- 
ter of common grievance, have determined to act for herself 
without consulting with her sister States equally aggrieved, we 
are, nevertheless, constrained to say that the occasion justifies 
and loudly calls for action of some kind. 

"The election of a President, by a sectional majority, as the 
representative of the principles referred to, clothed with the 
patronage and power incident to the office, including the autho- 
rity to appoint all the postmasters and other officers charged 
with the execution of the laws of the United States, is itself a 
standing menace to the South — a direct assault upon her in- 
stitutions — an incentive to robbery and insurrection, requiring 
from our own immediate local government, in its sovereign cha- 
racter, prompt action to obtain additional guarantees for 
equality and security in the Union, or to take measures for 
protection and security without it. 

" In view, therefore, of the present condition of our country, 
and the causes of it, we declare almost iu the words of our 
fathers, contained in an address of the freeholders of Bote- 
tourt, in February, 1775, to the delegates from Virginia to the 
Continental Congress, ' That we desire no change in our gov- 
ernment whilst left to the free enjoyment of our equal privi- 
leges secured by the constitution ; but that should a wicked and 
tyrannical sectional majority, under the sanction of the forms 
of the constitution, persist in acts of injustice and violence 
towards us, they only must be answerable for the consequences.' 

" ' That liberty is so strongly impressed upon our hearts that 
we cannot think of parting with it but with our lives ; that 
our duty to God, our country, ourselves and our posterity for- 
bid it ; we stand, therefore, prepared for every contingency.' 

^^ Resolved therefore, That in view of the facts set out in the 
foregoing preamble, it is the opinion of this meeting that a 
convention of the people should be called forthwith; that the 
State, in its sovereign character, should consult with the other 



WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR? 251 

Southern States, and agree upon such guarantees as in their 
opinion will secure their equality, tranquility and rights within 
the Union ; and in the event of a failure to obtain such guaran- 
tees, to adopt in concert with the other Southern States, or alone, 
such measures as may seem most expedient to protect the 
rights and insure the safety of the people of Virginia. 

''And in the event of a change in our relations to the other 
States being rendered necessary, that the convention so elected 
should recommend to the people, for their adoption, such alter- 
ations in our State constitution as may adapt it to the altered 
condition of the State and country." 

We quote the following at the suggestion of friends in whose 
judgment we have confidence, not as by any means worthy of 
a place among the able papers we are presenting, nor as a full 
treatment of the question, but simply as a popular hit back at Mr. 
Rossiter Johnson, who wrote in the New York Examiner, and 
has since published in book form, a so-called "History of the 
War." 

THE SECESSION OF VIRGINIA. 

BY J. WM. JONES. 

" I am willing to believe that Mr. Johnson has tried to be 
fair, and hds presented the case as he understands it. But as 
a Virginian born and reared on her soil, familiar with her his- 
tory, and proud of her traditions, I especially desire to enter 
my protest against the account he has given [see the Examiner 
of November 12th] of 'The Secession of Virginia.' 

" The statement that Virginia's governor (John Letcher) 
' was an ardent disunionist' exactly contradicts the fact. Gov- 
ernor Letcher, up to the issuing of Mr. Lincoln's proclamation 
calling for seventy-five thousand troops to coerce the seceded 
States, was an ardent ' Union ' man, as were a majority of the 
people of Virginia. Indeed, his attachment to the Union was 
so strong — and his opposition to secession so emphatic and 
outspoken — that the secessionists distrusted him, and their 
chief organ, the Richmond Examiner, was filled with abuse and 
denunciation of ' our tortoise governor,' ' the submissionist,' 
' the betrayer of the liberties of the people,' etc. Governor 
Letcher was in fullest accord with the Union leaders of the Vir- 
ginia convention, and refused every suggestion to call out 
troops to capture the navy-yard at Portsmouth, Fortress Monroe, 
or Harper's Ferry until after the convention has passed the ordi- 



252 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

nance of secession. But he was, in all of his sympathies and 
feelings, a Virginian, did not believe in the right of the gen- 
eral government to coerce a ' Sovereign Btate,' and promptly- 
responded to Mr. Lincoln's call for Virginia's quota of the sev- 
enty-five thousand troops that no troops 'would be furnished 
for any such purpose — ' an object' which, in his judgment, 
'was not within the purview of the constitution or the laws.' 
' You have,' said he to Mr Lincoln, 'chosen to inaugurate civil 
war.' 

"But the most remarkable statement in Mr. Johnson's article 
is as follows : 

" ' Virginia's fate appears to have been determined by a meas- 
ure that was less spectacular and more coldly significant. The 
Confederate Congress at Montgomery passed an act forbidding 
the importation of slaves from States outside of the Confed- 
eracy. When Virginia heard that, like the young man in scrip- 
ture, she went away sorrowful ; for in that line of trade she 
had great possessions. The cultivation of land by slave-labor 
had long since ceased to be profitable in the border States — or 
at least it was far less profitable than raising slaves for the cot- 
ton States, and the acquisition of new territory in Texas and 
Missouri had enormously increased the demand. The greatest 
part of this business (sometimes estimated as high as one half) 
was Virginia's. It was called the ' vigintal crop,' as the blacks 
were ready for market and at their highest value about the age of 
twenty. As it was an ordinary business of bargain and sale, 
no statistics were kept ; but the lowest estimate of the annual 
value of th*^ trade in the Old Dominion placed it in the tens of 
millions of dollars. After Sumter had been fired on and the 
Confederate Congress had forbidden this traffic to outsiders, 
the Virginia convention again took up the ordinance of seces- 
sion (April 17th) and passed it in secret session by a vote of 
88 to 65.' 

"Now I have to say in reply to this : 

" 1. The Confederate Congress at Montgomery -passed no such 
act ' forbidding the importation of slaves from States outside of 
the Confederacy,' and absolutely nothing of this character 
whatever. I have before me an official copy of the statutes at 
large of the Confederate States of America — a book, by the way, 
which I respectfully commend to Mr. Johnson for his careful 
study — and it contains no such act or resolution. 

" 2. Even if such an act had been passed, it would not have 
had the slightest eflfect upon the action of Virginia, for it is a 
slander alike upon the character of her people and the motives 
which impelled her to secede and join the confederacy, to rep- 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 253 

resent her as a cold, calculating, negro-trader, only influenced 
by the hope of gain in raising negroes for the Southern market. 
It is not true that ' raising slaves for the cotton States ' was an 
' ordinary business of bargain and sale,' worth annually ' tens 
of millions of dollars to Virginia.' The truth is that the ave- 
rage Virginia planter would mortgage his plantation and well 
nigh ruin his estate to support his negroes in comparative idle- 
ness before he would sell them ; that very few negroes were ever 
sold except under the sternest necessity ; that the negro trader 
was considered a disreputable member of society ; and that 
'raising slaves for the market ' is a romance of abolition inven- 
tion which fully served its purpose in the bitter controversies of 
the slavery agitation, but which an intelligent writer should 
now be ashamed to drag forth again. When Robert E. Lee 
said, ^ If the millions of slaves at the South ivere mine I would free 
them ivith a stroke of the pen to avert this ivar,^ he but voiced the 
sentiments of nine-tenths of the people in Virginia. The truth 
is that our grand old commonwealth has a record on this ques- 
tion of which she need not be ashamed. The first slaves intro- 
duced in Virginia were brought and forced upon her colonists 
against their protests — and from that day all that were brought 
to her soil came in ships of Old or New England. When the 
Federal constitution was adopted Virginia favored the imme- 
diate abolition of the slave trade, and the tirtie for its abolition 
was extended twenty years on the demand of Massachusetts 
and other New England States, and when the slave-trade was 
abolished Virginia voted for its abolition, while Massachusetts 
voted for its continuance. After giving with, princel}^ liberal- 
ity, to the general government for the common domain, the 
Northwest Territory, out of which the States of Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota were 
afterwards carved, Virginia consented with surprising readiness 
to making this /rcc territory. And there can be but little doubt 
that the sentiments of her leading statesmen would have pre- 
vailed, and Virginia would have adopted emancipation measures, 
but for the fact that, after finding that slavery would not pay with 
them, the Northern States (after selling their own slaves and 
pocketing the money) began a system of warfare upon slavery 
which tended to consolidate and perpetuate the pro-slavery 
sentiment in the State. 

"3. The real reason of the secession of Virginia was that she 
considered that Mr. Lincoln's proclamation had 'inaugurated 
civil war,' and she had simply to choose whether she would take 
sides with the Korih or toith the South in the great conflict. 

" If you could give me space to go into the details I could 
abundantly show that in all the bitter controversies of the past 



254 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the voice of Virginia had been on the side of the Union — that 
she had been ready to make any sacrifice, save honor, to pre- 
serve the Union which her sons had done so much to form and 
to perpetuate. 

"After other Southern States had seceded she still voted 
overwhelmingly against secession, called the 'Peace Congress' 
which assembled at Washington, sent her commissioners to Mr. 
Lincoln after his inaugural, and on bended knee begged for 
peace and Union. But she was equally emphatic in claiming 
that a State had the right to secede — that she had expressly reserved 
that right when she entered the original compact — and that the 
general government had no right to coerce a State desiring to 
secede. This she had declared over and over again by the most 
solemn enactment, and her commissioners made her position 
clear to the authorities at Washington. Two days, therefore, 
after Mr. Lincoln's call for her quota of troops to subjugate 
the seceded States, Virginia passed her ordinance of secession 
and bared her breast to receive the coming storm. 

" Equally untrue to the facts of history is the attempt of Mr. 
Johnson to make it appear that the people of Virginia were not 
then in favor of secession — that ' the governor turned over the 
entire military force and equipment of the State to the Confed- 
erate authorities ' — and that a vote against secession was ' im- 
possible,' because at the time of the popular vote, * the soil of 
Virginia was overrun by soldiers from the cotton States.' The 
convention, and not the governor, formed the alliance with the 
Confederate States — the election was one of the fairest ever held 
in America — and while the vote stood 125,950 in favor of rati- 
fying the ordinance of secession to 20,373 against it (most of 
these last being cast in northwest Virginia, where Federal 
bayonets did influence the vote) — yet there were no soldiers at 
the polls, no tort of intimidation was used, and men voted freely 
their honest convictions. The simple truth is, that Mr. Lin- 
coln's proclamation caused the immediate secession of Virginia, 
and so dissipated the 'Union' sentiment of the people, that 
Hon. John B. Baldwin (the Union leader of the convention, and 
one of the ablest, purest men the State overproduced) but voiced 
the general sentiment when he wrote a friend at the North — ■ 
who had asked him the day after the proclamation was issued* 
'What will the Union men of Virginia do now?' — ' We have nc 
Union men in Virginia now, but those whe were ' Union ' men will 
stand to their guns and make a fight which shall shine out on 
the page of history as an example of what a brave people can 
do after exhausting every means of pacification.' 

" Yes ; old Virginia clung to the Union and the constitution 
with filial devotion. The voice of her Henry had first aroused 



,WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 255 

the colonies to resist British oppression. The pen of her Jeffer- 
son had written the Declaration of Independence, The sword 
of her Washington had made good that Declaration. The pen 
of her Mason had written the constitution, and her great states- 
men had expounded it. Through long, prosperous, and happy 
years her sons had filled the presidential chair, and her voice 
had been potential, in cabinet and Congress, in shaping the 
destinies of the great republic to whose prosperity she had con- 
tributed so largely. 

"But now there had arisen 'another king that knew not 
Joseph ' — the very fundamental principles of the constitution 
were, in her judgment, subverted — civil war, with all of its 
horrors, had been inaugurated, and she must choose on Avhich 
side she would fight. She did not hesitate ; but knowing full 
well that her soil would be the great battle-field, she took up the 
' gage of battle ' and called on her sons to rally to hor defence. 
From mountain-valley to the shores of her resounding seas — 
from Alleghany to Chesapeake — from the Potomac to the North 
Carolina line — the call is heard and there rush to arms at the first 
tap of the drum — not Hessian nor Milesian mercenaries, not a 
band of negro-traders coolly calculating how much they could 
make out of a ' Southern Confederacy ' — but the very flower of 
our Virginia manhood, as true patriots as the world ever saw, 
worthy sons of sires of '73. 

" And they did * make a fight ' which illustrates some of the 
brightest pages of American history, and of which men at the 
North as well as men at the South are even now beginning to be 
proud. Aye ! and the day will come when the story of the par- 
tisan will rot into oblivion, and ' the men who wore the gra}'-, ' 
alike with ' the men who wore the blue, ' will have even justice at 
the bar of impartial history." 

But, after all, the case is as beautifully and as strongly stated 
in one of the last letters which Mr. Davis ever wrote, addressed 
to the committee of arrangements for the North Carolina Cen- 
tennial as anywhere else,. He states it as regards the State 
of North Carolina, but the principles apply equally to all of 

the States. 

" Beauvoir, Miss., October 30, 1889. 

" Messrs. Wharton J. Green, James C. McRae, C. W. Broadfoot, Neil 
W. Ray, and W. C. McDuffie, Charlotte : 

" Gentlemen — Your letter inviting me to attend North Caro- 
lina's centennial, to be held at Fayetteville, on the 21st of 



256 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

November next, was duly received, but this acknowledgment 
has been delayed under the hope that an improvement in my 
health would enable me to be present as invited. As the time ap- 
proaches I find that cherished hope unrealized and that I must 
regretfully confess my inability to join you in the commemo- 
rative celebration. It has been my sincere wish to meet the 
people of the 'Old North State' on the occasion which will 
naturally cause them, with just pride, to trace the historic river 
of their years to its source in the colony of Albemarle. All 
along that river stand monuments of fidelity to the inalienable 
rights of the people, even when an infant successfully resisting 
executive usurpation, and in the defense of the privileges 
guaranteed by charter, boldly defying kings, lords, and com- 
mons. Always self-reliant, yet not vainly self-asserting, she 
provided for her own defense, while giving material aid to her 
neighbors, as she regarded all of the British colonies of America. 
Thus she sent troops, armed and equipped, for service in both 
Virginia and South Carolina; also dispatched a ship from the 
port of Wilmington with food for the eutlerers in Boston after 
the closing of that port by Great Britain. In her declaration 
that the cause of Boston was the cause of all, there was not 
only the assertion of a community of rights and a purpose to 
defend them, but self-abnegation of the commercial advantages 
which would probably accrue from the closing of a rival port. 

"Without diminution of regard for the great and good men 
of the other colonies, I have been led to special veneration for 
the men of North Carolina, as the first to distinctly declare for 
State independence, and from first to last to uphold the right 
of a people to govern themselves. 

" I do not propose to discuss the vexed question of the Meck- 
lenburg resolutions of May, 1775, which, from the similarity of 
expression to the great Declaration of Independence of July, 
1776, have created much contention, because the claim of North 
Carolina rests on a broader foundation than the resolves of the 
meeting at Mecklenburg, which deserve to be preserved as the 
outburst of a brave, liberty-loving people on the receipt of news 
of the combat at Concord between British soldiers and citizens 
of Massachusetts. The broader foundations referred to are the 
records of events preceding and succeeding the meeting at 
Mecklenburg, and the proceedings of the provincial congress, 
which met at Hillsboro' in August, 1775. Before this congress 
convened North Carolina, in disregard of opposition by the 
governor, had sent delegates to represent her in the general 
congress to be held in Philadelphia, and had denounced the 
attack upon Boston, and had appointed committees of safety 



WAS DAVIS A TRAlTORf 257 

with such far-reaching functions as belong to revolutionary 
times only. The famous stamp act of Parliament was openly re- 
sisted by men of highest reputation, a vessel bringing the stamps 
was seized and the commander bound not to permit them to be 
landed. These things were done in open day by men who wore 
no disguise and shunned no question. Before the congress of 
the province had assembled the last royal governor of North 
Carolina had fled to escape from the indignation of the people 
who, burdened but not bent by oppression, had resolved to live 
or die as freemen. The congress at Hillsboro went earnestly 
to work, not merely to declare independence but to provide the 
means for maintaining it. The congress, feeling quite equal 
to the occasion, proceeded to make laws for raising and organ- 
izing troops, for supplying money, and to meet the contingency 
of a blockade of her seaports, offered bounties to stimulate the 
production of the articles most needful in time of war. On 
the 12th of April, 1776, the continental congress being then in 
session, and with much diversity of opinion as to the proper 
course to be pursued under this condition of affairs, the North 
Carolina congress resolved * that the delegates for this colony 
in the continental congress be empowered to concur with the 
delegates of the other colonies in declaring independence and 
forming foreign alliances, reserving to the colony the sole and 
exclusive right of forming a constitution and laws for the 
colony,' etc. 

" This, I believe, was the first distinct declaration for sepa- 
ration from Great Britain and State independence, and there is 
much besides priority to evoke admiration. North Carolina 
had, by many acts of resistance to the British authorities, pro- 
voked their vengeance, yet she dared to lead in defiance ; but 
no danger, however dread in the event of her isolation, could 
make her accept co-operation, save with the reservation of 
supremacy in regard to her own constitution and laws — the 
sacred principle of ' community independence ' and government 
founded on the consent of the governed. After having done 
her whole duty in the war for independence and become a free, 
sovereign, and independent State, she entered into the confed- 
eration with these rights and powers recognized as unabridged. 
When experience proved the articles of confederation to be 
inadequate to the needs of good government, she agreed to a 
general convention for their amendment. The convention did 
not limit its labors to amendment of the articles, but proceeded 
to form a new plan of government, and, adhering to the cardi- 
nal principle that governments must be derived from the con- 
sent of the governed, submitted the new plan to the people of 
17 



258 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the several States, to be adopted or rejected as each by and for 
itself should decide. It is to be remembered that the articles 
of confederation for the ' United States of America ' declared 
that *the Union shall be perpetual,' and that no alteration 
should be made in the said articles unless it should ' be confirmed 
by the legislatures of every State.' True to her creed of State 
sovereignty. North Carolina recognized the power of such States 
as chose to do so to withdraw from the Union, and by the same 
token her own unqualified right to decide whether or not she 
would subscribe to the proposed compact for a more perfect 
union, and in which it is to be observed the declaration for per- 
petuity was omitted. In the hard school of experience she had 
learned the danger to popular liberty from a government which 
could claim to be the final judge of its own powers. She had 
fought a long and devastating war for State independence, and 
was not willing to put in jeopardy the priceless jewel she had 
gained. After a careful examination it was concluded that the 
proposed constitution did not sufficiently guard against usurpa- 
tion by the usual resort to implication of powers not expressly 
granted, and declined to act upon the geuicral assurances that 
the deficiency would soon be supplied by the needful amend- 
ments. In the meantime, State after State had acceded to 
the new union, until the requisite number had been obtained 
for the establishment of the 'constitution between the States 
to ratifying the same.' With characteristic self-reliance, North 
Carolina confronted the prospect of isolation, and calmly re- 
solved, if so it must be, to stand as one rather than subject to 
hazard her most prized possession — community independence. 
Confiding in the security offered by the first ten amendments 
to the constitution, especially the ninth and tenth of the series, 
North Carolina voluntarily acceded to the new union. The 
tenth amendment restricted the functions of the Federal gov- 
ernment to the exercise of the powers delegated to it by the 
States, all of which were expressly stipulated. Beyond that 
limit nothing could be done rightfully. If covertly done, 
under color of law, or by reckless usurpation of an extraneous 
majority which, feeling power, should disregard right, had the 
State no peaceful remedy? Could she, as a State in a confed- 
eration, the bed-rock of which is the consent of its members, 
be bound by a compact which others broke to her injury? Had 
her reserved rights no other than a paper barrier to protect 
them against invasion? 

" Surely the heroic patriots and wise statesmen of North Caro- 
lina, by their sacrifices, utterances and deeds, have shown what 
their answer would have been to these questions, if they had 



WAS DAVJS A THAI TO Ji/ 259 

been asked, on the day when in one convention they ratified the 
amended constitution of the United States. Her exceptional 
delay in ratification marks her vigilant care for the right she 
had so early asserted and so steadily maintained. 

" Of her it may be said, as it was of Sir Walter Scott in his 
youth, that he was ' always the first in a row and the last out of 
it.' In the peaceful repose which followed the Revolution all 
her interests were progressive. 

" Farms, school-houses and towns rose over a subdued wilder- 
ness, and with a mother's joy she saw her sons distinguished in 
the public service by intelligence, energy and perseverance, and 
by the integrity without which all other gifts are but as tinsel. 
North Carolina grew a pace in all which constitutes power, 
until 1812 she was required, as a State of the Union, to resist 
aggressions on the high seas in the visitation of American 
merchant vessels and the impressment of American seamen 
by the armed cruisers of Great Britain. 

" These seamen generally belonged to the New England 
States ; none, probably, were North Carolinians ; but her old 
spirit was vital still ; for the cause of one was the cause of all, 
as she announced when Boston was under embargo. 

" At every roll-call for the common defence she answered 
'Here!' When blessed peace returned she stacked her arms, 
for which she had no prospective use. Her love for her neigh- 
bors had been tried and not found wanting in the time of their 
need; why should she anticipate hostility from them? 

" The envy, selfish jealousy and criminal hate of a Cain 
could not come near to her heart. If not to suspect such vice 
in others be indiscreet credulity, it is a knightly virtue and 
a part of an honest nature. In many years of military and 
civil service it has been my good fortune to know the sons of 
North Carolina under circumstances of trial and could make a 
list of those deserving honorable mention which would too far 
extend this letter, already, I fear, tediously long. 

"Devotion to principle, self-reliance, and inflexible adher- 
ence to resolution when adopted, accompanied by conservative 
caution, were the characteristics displayed by North Carolina 
in both her colonial and State history. All these qualities 
were exemplified in her action on the day of the anniversary 
of which you commemorate. If there be any, not likely to be 
found with you but possibly elsewhere, who shall ask 'how, 
then, should North Carolina consistently enact her ordinance 
of secession in 1861? ' he is referred to the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence of 1776, to the articles of confederation of 3777, for 
a perpetual union of the States from the union so established; 



26C THE DA VIS MEMORIA L VOL UMB. 

to the treaty of 1783, recognizing the independence of the 
States severally and distinctively; to the constitution of the 
United States, with its first ten amendments ; to the time-hon- 
ored resolutions of 1798-1799 ; that from these, one and all, he 
may learn that the State, having won her independence by 
heavy sacrifices, had never surrendered it nor had ever at- 
tempted to delegate the unalienable rights of the people. How 
valiantly her sons bore themselves in the war between the 
States the lists of the killed and wounded testify. She gave 
them a sacrificial offering on the altar of the liberties their 
fathers had won and had left as an inheritance to their poster- 
ity. Many sleep far from the land of their nativity. Peace to 
their ashes 1 Honor to their memory and the mother who bore 
them ! 

Faithfully, Jefferson Davis. 

Senator John W. Daniel, in his address delivered in Rich- 
mond, before the Virginia Legislature, January 25, 1890, in 
the presence of an immense crowd and an enthusiastic audience, 
made a popular defence of Mr. Davis, so able, so eloquent, and 
so conclusive, that we give the full text of his splendid oration, 
for while there are other matters introduced which might come 
more appropriately at other points of this outline, we do not 
feel like marring its symmetry by abridging it or separating its 
parts. 

ORATION OF SENATOR JOHN W. DANIEL. 

"JIfr. Speaker, Gentlemen of ihe General Assembly of Virginia, La- 
dies and Gentlemen : 



"Noble are the words of Cicero when he tells us thai 'it is 
the first and fundamental law of history that it should neither 
dare to say anything that is false or fear to say anything that 
is true, nor give any just suspicion of favor or disaffection.' 

" No less high a standard must be invoked in considering the 
life, character, and services of Jefferson Davis, a great man of 
a great epoch ; whose name is blended w4th the renown of 
American arms and with the civic glories of the cabinet and 
the Congress hall — a son of the South who became the head of 
a confederacy more populous and more extensive than that for 
which Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and 
the commander-in-chief of armies many times greater than 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOBf 261 

those of which Washington was the general. He swayed senates 
and led the soldiers of the Union — and he stood accused of 
treason in a court of justice. He saw victory sweep illustrious 
battle-fields ; and he became a captive. 

" He ruled millions, and he was put in chains. 

" He created a nation ; he followed its bier ; he wrote its epi- 
taph, and he died a disfranchised citizen. 

" But though great in all vicissitudes and trials, he was 
greatest in that fortune which, lifting him first to the loftiest 
height and casting him thence into the depths of disappoint- 
ment, found him everywhere the erect and constant friend of 
truth. He conquered himself and forgave his enemies, but he 
bent to none but God. 

" No public man was ever subjected to sterner ordeals of char- 
acter or closer scrutiny of conduct. He was in the public gaze 
for nearly half a century ; and in the fate which at last over- 
whelmed the Southern Confederacy and its President its official 
records and private papers fell into the hands of his enemies. 

"Wary eyes now searched to see if he had overstepped the 
bounds which the laws of war have set to action ; and could 
such evidence be found wrathful hearts would have cried for 
vengeance. But though every hiding-place was opened, and re- 
ward was ready for any who would betray tha secrets of the 
Captive Chief, whose armies were scattered and whose hands 
were chained — though the sea gave up its dead in the convul- 
sion of his country — there could be found no guilty fact, and 
accusing tongues w^ere silenced. 

"Whatever record leaped to light, " 

His name could not be shamed." 

" I could not, indeed, nor would I divest myself of those identi- 
ties and partialities which make me one with the people of whom 
he was the chief in their supreme conflict. But surely if records 
were stainless and enemies were dumb, and if the principals 
now pronounce favorable judgment upon the agent, notwith- 
standing that he failed to conduct their affairs to a successful 
issue, there can be no suspicion of undue favor on the part of 
those who do him honor; and the contrary inclination could 
only spring from disaffection. 

" The people of the South knew Jefferson Davis. He mingled 
his daily life wath theirs under the eager ken of those who had 
bound up with him all that life can cherish. 

" To his hands they consigned their destinies, and under his 
guidance they committed the land they loved with husbands, 
fathers, sons and brothers to the God of battles. 



262 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Ruin, wounds, and death became their portion. And yet 
this people do declare that Jefferson Davis was an unselfish 
patriot and a noble gentleman ; that as the trustee of the highest 
trust that man can place in man he was clear and faithful ; and 
that in his high office he exhibited those grand heroic attributes 
which were worthy of its dignity and of their struggle for inde- 
pendence. 

" Thus it was that when the news came that he was no more 
there was no southern home that did not pass under the shadow 
of affliction. Thus it was that the governors of commonwealths 
bore his body to the tomb and that multitudes gathered from 
afar to bow in reverence. Thus it was that throughout the South 
the scarred soldiers, the widowed wives, the kindred of those 
who had died in the battle which he delivered met to give utter- 
ance to their respect and sorrow. Thus it is that the General 
Assembly of Virginia is now convened to pay their tribute. Com- 
pleter testimony to human worth was never given, and thus it 
will be that the South will build a monument to record their 
verdict that he was true to his people, his conscience, and his 
God ; and no stone that covers the dead will be worthier of the 
Roman legend : 

'Clarus et vir fartissimus.' 

"The life now closed was one of conflict from youth to man- 
hood, and from manhood to the grave. Before he was a man in 
years he was an officer in the army of his country, and inter- 
missions of military and civil services were but spent in burn- 
ishing the weapons which were to shine in the clash of oppos- 
ing interests. 

" The scenes of the hearthstone and of the cloisters of friend- 
ship and religion have no place on that large canvas which por- 
trays the great events of national existence ; and those who come 
forth from them equipped and strong to wrestle and contend 
leave often behind them the portions of their life-work which, 
could others know them, would reverse all conceptions of char- 
acter and turn aversion to affection. 

"Those who knew Jefferson Davis in intimate relations honor- 
ed him most and loved him. Genial and gentle, approachable 
to all, especially regardful of the humble and lowly, affable in 
conversation, and enriching it from the amplest stores of a re- 
fined and cultured mind, he fascinated those who came within 
the circle of his society and endeared them to him. Reserved 
as to himself, he bore the afflictions of a diseased body with scant 
•allusion even when it became needful to plead them in self- 
defence. With bandaged eyes and weak from suffering he would 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITORf 283 

come from a couch of pain to vote on public issues, and for over 
twenty years -with the sight of one eye gone, ho dedicated his 
labors to the vindication of the South from the aspersions Avhich 
misconceptions and passions had engendered. 

" At over four-score years he died, with his harness on, his pen 
yet bright and trenchant, his mental eye undimmed, his soul 
athirst for peace, truth, justice, and fraternity, breathing his 
latest breath in clearing the memories of the Lost Confederacy. 

"Clear and strong in intellect, proud, high-minded, sensitive, 
self-willed, but not self-centered ; self-assertive for his cause, 
but never for his own advancement ; aggressive and imperious 
as are nearly all men fit for leadership ; with the sturdy virtues 
that command respect, but without the small diplomacies that 
conciliate hostility, he was one of those characters that natu- 
raUy makes warm friends and bitter enemies ; a veritable man, 
terribly in earnest,' such as Carlyle loved to count among the 
leroes. 

" Such a man can never be understood while strife lasts ; and 
little did they understand him who thought him selfish, cold, 
or cruel. When he came to Richmond as your President your 
generous people gave him a home and he declined it. After 
the war when dependent on his labor for the bread of his 
family kincl friends tendered him a purse. Gracefully refusing, 
*Send it,' lie said, * to the poor and suffering soldiers and their 
familit;:?.' / His heart was full of melting charity, and in the 
Confederate days the complaint was that his many pardons 
relaxed /discipline, and that he would not let the sentences of 
military courts be executed. Not a human being ever believed 
for an instant the base imputation that he appropriated Con- 
federate gold. He distributed the last to the soldiers, and ' the 
fact is,' he wrote to a friend, * that I staked all my property and 
reputation on the defense of States' rights and constitutional 
liberty as I understand them. The first I spent in the cause, 
except what w^as saved and appropriated or destroyed by the 
enemy ; the last has been persistently assailed by all which 
falsehood could invent and malignity employ.' 

" He would have turned with loathing from misuse of a pris- 
oner, for there was no characteristic of Jetferson Davis more 
marked than his regard for the weak, the helpless, and the 
captive. By act of the Confederate Congress and by general 
orders the same rations served to the Confederates were issued 
to the prisoners, though taken from a starving army and people. 

"Brutal and base was the effort to stigmatize him as a con- 
spirator to maltreat prisoners, but better for him that it was 
made, for while he was himself yet in prison the evidences of 



264 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

his humanity were so overwhelming that finally slander stood 
abashed and malignity recoiled. 

" Even at Andersonville, where the hot summer sun was of 
course disastrous to men of the northern clime, well nigh as 
many of their guard died as of them. 

" With sixty thousand more Federal prisoners in the South 
than there were Confederate prisoners in the North, four thous- 
and more Confederates than Federals died in prison. A cyclone 
of rhetoric cannot shake this mountain of fact, and these facts 
are alike immovable : 

" 1. He tried to get the prisoners exchanged by the cartel 
agreed on, but as soon as an excess of prisoners was in Federal 
hands this was refused. 

" 2. A delegation of the prisoners themselves was sent to 
Washington to represent the situation and the plea of human- 
ity for exchange. 

" 3. Vice-President Stephens was sent to see President Lin- 
coln by President Davis and urge exchange, in order ' to restrict 
the calamities of W'ar' ; but he was denied audience. 

" 4. Twice — in January, 1864, and in January, 1865 — Presi- 
dent Davis proposed through Commissioner Ouldthat each side 
should send surgeons, and allow money, food, clothing, and 
medicines to be sent to prisoners, but no answer came. 

" 5. Unable to get medicmes in the Confederacy, offer was 
made to buy them from the United States for the sole use of 
Federal prisoners. No answer was made. 

" 6. Then offer was made to deliver the sick and wounded 
without any equivalent in exchange. There was no reply for 
months. 

" 7. Finally, and as soon as the United States would receive 
them, thousands of both sick and well w^ere delivered without 
exchange. 

" The record leaves no doubt as to the responsibility for 
refusal to exchange. General Grant assumed it, saying in his 
letter of August 18, 1864: ' It is hard on our men in southern 
prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left 
in the ranks to fight our battles. If we commence a system of 
exchanges which liberates all prisoners taken we will have to 
fight on until the whole South is exterminated. If we hold 
those caught they amount to no more than dead men. At this 
particular time to release all rebel prisoners North would insure 
Sherman's defeat and compromise our own safety here.' 

"Alexander H. Stephens declared that the effort to fix odium 
on President Davis constituted 'one of the boldest and baldest 
attempted outrages upon the truth of history which has ever 
been essayed.' 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITOBf 265 

" Charles A. Dana, of the New York Sun., formerly assistant 
Secretary of War, nobly vindicated President Davis while he 
lived, declared him 'altogether acquitted' of the charge, and 
said of him dead, 'A majestic soul has passed.' 

" When Mr. Davis congratulated General Lee's army on the 
victories of Richmond, he said to them : ' Your humanity to the 
wounded and the prisoners was the fit and crowning glory of 
your valor.' And could that army now march by, they would 
lift those laurels from their bayonets and throw them upon the 
grave of the Confederate President. 

" Resentment wreaked itself upon him ere the truths were 
fully known and while indeed passion turned a deaf ear to them. 
And if he struck back what just man can blame him? With a 
reward of $100,000 offered for him as an assassin, charged with 
maltreating prisoners, indicted for treason and imprisoned for 
two years and denied a trial ; handcuffed like a common ruf- 
fian ; put in solitary confinement; a silent sentinel and a blazing 
light at watch on his every motion, where is there a creature 
who can call himself a man who could condemn — aye, who 
does not sympathize with the goaded innocence and the right- 
eous indignation with which he spurned the accusations and 
denounced the accusers ? 

" But whatever he suffered the grandeur of his soul lifted 
him above the feelings of hatred and malice. 

"When Grant lay stricken on Mt. McGregor he was requested 
to write a criticism of his military career. He declined for two 
reasons : * First, General Grant is dying. Second, though he 
invaded our country with a ruthless, it was with an open hand, 
and, as far as I know, he abetted neither arson nor pillage, 
and has since the war, I believe, shown no malignity to the 
Confederates either of the military or civil service; therefore, 
instead of seeking to disturb the quiet of his closing hours, I 
would, if it were in my power, cgntribute to the peace of his 
mind and the comfort of his body.' This was no new-born feel- 
ing. At Fortress Monroe, when suffering the tortures of bodily 
pain in an unwholesome prison, and the worse tortures of a 
humiliating and cruel confinement which make man blush for 
his kind to recall them, he, yet in the solitude of his cell, 
shared only by his faithful pastor, took the Holy Communion 
which commemorates the blood and the broken body of Christ 
Jesus, and bowing to God, declared his heart at peace with Him 
and man. 

" As free from envy as he was from malice, he was foremost in 
recognizing, applauding, and eulogizing the great character and 
achievements of General R. E. Lee, and with his almost dying 



266 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

hand he wove a chaplet of evergreen beauty to lay upon his 
honored brow. 

"Sternly did he stand for principle. He was no courtier, no 
flatterer, no word magician, no time-server, no demagogue 
unless that word shakes from it the contaminations of its abuse 
and return to its pristine meaning — a leader of the people. 
Like King David's was his command, 'There shall no deceit- 
ful man dwell in my house.' A pure and lofty spirit breathed 
through his every utterance, which, like the Parian stone, 
revealed in its polish the fineness of the grain. I can recall no 
public man who, in the midst of such shifting and perplexing 
scenes of strife, maintained so firmly the consistency of his 
principles, and who, despite the shower of darts that hurtled 
around his head, triumphed so completely over every dishonor- 
ing imputation. It was because those who knew his faith knew 
always where to find him, and wherever found he proclaimed 
that faith as the standard bearer unfurls his colors. 

"He was always re^dy to follow his principles to their logical 
conclusion, to becom^ at any sacrifice their champion ; to face 
defeat in their defensje, and to die, if need be, rather than dis- 
guise or recant them, i 

"Advocating the Mexican war while a member of the House 
of Representatives from Mississippi, he resigned his seat there 
to take command of a Mississippi regiment and share the hard- 
ships and dangers of the field. 

" When later, his party in Mississippi seemed to be losing 
ground, and General Quitman, its candidate for governor, retired, 
a popular election giving forecast of 7,500 majority against him, 
Jefferson Davis resigned his seat in the United States Senate to 
accept its leadership and become its nominee, and with such 
effect did he rally its ranks that he came within 1,000 votes of 
election. 

" When he turned homeward from Mexico, the laurelled hero 
of Buena Vista, he was everywhere hailed with acclamation, 
and a commission as brigadier-general of volunteers in the 
United States army was tendered him by President Polk. We 
may well conceive with what pride the j^oung soldier, not yet 
forty years of age, would welcome so rare an honor in the cher- 
ished profession which had kindled his youthful ardor, and in 
which he had become now so signally distinguished. 

" But he had taught the doctrine that the State, and not the 
Federal government, was the true constitutional fountain of 
such an honor, and from another hand he would not bend his 
knightly brow to receive it. And yet later on, when summoned 
from the privacy of home to a place in the Cabinet of President 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 267 

Pierce, he declined, because he believed it to be his duty to 
remain in Mississippi and Avrestle for the cause with which he 
was identified. Thus did he abandon or decline the highest 
dignities of civil and military life, always putting principle 
in the lead, and himself anywhere that would best support it. 

^' Personal virtues and public services are so different in 
essence and effect that nations often glorify those whose pri- 
vate characters are detestable, and condemn others who possess 
the most admirable traits. The notorious vices of Marlborough 
stood not in the way of the titles, honors, and estates which 
England heaped on the hero of Blenheim, and the nobleness of 
Robert Emmet did not shield the champion of Irish indepen- 
dence from the scaffold. 

" But the men of history cannot be thus dismissed from the 
bar of public judgment with verdicts wrung from the passion of 
an hour. There is a court of appeals in the calmer life, and 
the clearer intelligence of nations, and whenever the inherent 
rights or the moral ideas underlying the movements of society 
are brought in question, the personal qualities, the honor, the 
comprehension, the constancy of its leading spirits must con- 
tribute largely to the final judgment. In this forum personal 
and public character are blended, for in great conjunctures it is 
largely through their representative men that we must inter- 
pret the genius of peoples. 

" It was fortunate for the South, for America, and for human- 
ity that at the head of the South in war was a true type of its 
honor, character, and history — a man whose clear rectitude 
preserved every complication from impeachment of bad faith ; 
a patriot whose love of law and liberty were paramount to all 
expediencies; a commander whose moderation and firmness 
could restrain, and whose lofty passion and courage could 
inspire; a publicist whose intellectual powers and attainments 
made him the peer of any statesman who has championed the 
rights of commonwealths in debate, or stood at the helm when 
the ship of State encountered the tempest of civil commotion. 

"In the tremendous storm which has scarce yet subsided 
Jefferson Davis never once forgot that he was a constitutional 
President under the limits of the fundamental law of the Con- 
federate republic. Some thought that he might have imparted 
a fiercer energy to his sore-pressed battalions had he grasped 
the purse and the sword, seized the reins of a dictator, and 
pushed the enterprise of war to its most exigent endeavor. 
But never once did ambition tempt or stress of circumstances 
drive him to admit the thought, at war as it was with the prin- 
ciples of the revolution which he led and with the genius of the 



26S THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Southern people. He stood for constitutional right. To him 
it was the Rock of Ages. Who does not now rejoice that he 
was inflexible ? 

" Had a man le«s sober-minded and less strong than he been 
in his place the Confederacy would not only have gone down 
in material ruin — it would have been buried in disgrace. Ex- 
cesses, sure to bring retribution in the end, would have blotted 
its career and weakness would have stripped its fate of dignity. 
I dismiss, therefore, the unworthy criticism that he should have 
negotiated peace in February, 1865, when Hon. Francis Blair 
came informally to Richmond, and when, as the result of his 
mission, Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell met Presi- 
dent Lincoln and Secretary Seward in conference at Hampton 
Roads. Reports have been circulated that at that time peace 
could have been secured upon a basis of a return to the Union, 
with payment of some sort to southern owners for their emanci- 
pated slaves. There is no foundation for such belief. The idea 
which led to the conference was that of Mr. Blair — that the Con- 
federate cause being hopeless, the Confederate leaders could be 
induced to wheel their columns into line with those of the Union 
army now thundering at their gates and then march off to Mexico 
to assert the Monroe doctrine and expel Maximilian, the usurp- 
ing emperor, from his throne. But when President Lincoln and 
Secretary Seward appeared no proposal of any kind was made 
but unconditional surrender. This was reported and of course 
declined. Even had compensation for slaves been proposed 
the Confederate soldiers would have repudiated such terms as 
conditions of surrender. True, they were in dire distress. 
With scarce a handful Johnston could only harass Sherman in 
the South, and the men of Lee could see from their trenches 
the mighty swarms marshalling in their front. The starvation 
that clutched at their throats plunged its dagger to their hearts 
as they thought of loved ones famishing at home. But the 
brave men who still clung to their tattered standards knew 
naught of the art or practice of surrender. They thought of 
Valley Forge and saw beyond it Yorktown. Had not Washing- 
ton thought of the mountains of West Augusta Avhen driven 
from his strongholds? Why not they? Had not Jackson left 
the legacy, 'What is life without honor? Dishonor is worse 
than death.' They could not comprehend the idea of surrender, 
for were they not their fathers' sons? 

"They would rather have died than surrender then, and they 
were right. Revolutions imply the impossibility of compro- 
mise. They never begm until overtures are ended. Once 
begun there is no half-way house between victory and death, 
And they can only die with honor in the last ditch. 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 269 

"Had surrender come before its necessity was manifest to all 
mankind, reproach, derision, and contempt, feud, faction, and 
recrimination would have brought an aftermath of disorder 
and terror ; and had it been based on such terms as those which 
critics have suggested a glorious revolution would have been 
snuffed out like a farthing candle in a miserable barter about 
the ransom of slaves. 

" It wag well for all that it was fought to the finish without 
compromise either tendered or entertained. The fact that it 
was so fought out gave finality to its result and well-nigh ex- 
tinguished its embers with its flames. No drop of blood be- 
tween Petersburg and Appomattox — not one in the last charge 
was shed in vain. Peace with honor must pay its price, even if 
that price be life itself, and it is because the South paid that 
price with no miser's hand that her surviving soldiers carried 
home with them the 'consciousness of duty faithfully per- 
formed.' We should rejoice that if weak men wavered before 
the end, neither Jefferson Davis, nor Robert Lee, nor Joseph 
Johnston wavered. Though they and their compeers could not 
achieve the independence of the Confederacy they did preserve 
the independent and unshamed spirit of their people. And it 
is in that spirit now that men of the South find their shield 
against calumn}', their title to respect, their welcome to the 
brotherhood of noble men, and their incentive to noble and 
unselfish deeds. 

" ' If you would know why Rome was great,' says a student 
of her history, ' consider that Roman soldier whose armed 
skeleton was found in a recess near the gate of Pompeii. 
When burst the sulphurous storm the undaunted hero dropped 
the visor of his helmet and stood there to die.' 

" Would you know why the South is great? Look on the new- 
made grave in Louisiana, and consider the ragged soldier of 
Benton ville and Appomattox. 

" After the Revolutionary war Samuel Davis, who had served 
in it as one of the mounted men of Georgia, settled in Ken- 
tucky. Pending that war, in 1782, the very year that George 
Rogers Clarke captured Kaskasia, Thomas Lincoln, of Rock- 
ingham county, Va., removed to the same State. Jefferson 
Davis, the son of the first-named settler, was born on June 8, 
1808, and on February 12, 1809, was born the son of the other — 
Abraham Lincoln. Samuel Davis moved to Mississippi. His 
son became a cadet at West Point under appointment from 
President Monroe, and soon, commissioned as a lieutenant in 
the United States army, appeared in the service fighting the 
Indians on the frontier in the Black Hawk war. In early man- 



270 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

hood Abraham Lincoln removed to Illinois, and now becoming 
a captain of volunteers he and Jefferson Davis were under the 
same flag engaged in the same warfare. 

"John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell had once engaged pas- 
sage for America, and George Washington was about to become 
a midshipman in the British navy. Had not circumstances 
changed these plans Hampden and Cromwell might have 
become great names in American history. And suppose Ad- 
miral George Washington, under the colors of KingGeorge III.', 
had been pursuing the Count D'Estaing, whose French fleet 
hemmed CornAvallis in at Yorktown — who knows how the story 
of the great Revolution might have been written? Had Jeffer- 
son Davis gone to Illinois and Lincoln to Mississippi, w^hat 
different histories would be around those names; and yet I 
fancy that the great struggle with which they were identified 
would have been changed only in incidents and not in its great 
currents. 

"In 1835 Lieutenant Davis resigned his commission in the 
army, intermarried Miss Taylor, a daughter of Colonel Zachary 
Taylor, and retired to his Mississippi estate, where for eight 
years he spent his time in literary studies and agricultural 
pursuits — a country gentleman with a full library and broad 
acres. 

" Such life as his was that of John Hampden before the 
country squire suddenly emerged from obscurity as a debater, 
a leader of Parliament, and a soldier to plead and fight and die 
in the people's cause against a tyrant's and a tax-gatherer's 
exactions. Such life as his was that of many of the fathers 
of this republic, and w^hen Jefferson Davis entered public life 
in 1843, he came as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, 
Henry, Mason, Clay, Calhoun and Andrew Jackson had come 
before him — from a Southern plantation, where he had been the 
head of a family and the master of slaves. 

" From 1843 to 1861 the life of Jeft'erson Davis was spent for 
the most part in public services, and they were as distinguished 
as the occasions which called them into requisition were numer- 
ous and important. A presidential elector, a member of the 
House of Representatives, a United States Senator (once by 
appointment and twice by election), a colonel of the Missis- 
sippi volunteers in Mexico, twice a candidate for governor of 
his State before the people, these designations give suggestion 
of the number and dignity of nis employments. 

" How he led the Mississippi riflemen in storming Monterey 
without bayonets ; how he threw them into the famous ' V ' to 
receive and repulse the Mexican lancers at the crisis of the 



WAS DAVIDS A TBAlTORf 271 

batilo of Buena Vista; how, though wounded and bleeding 
from a musket-shot, he sat his horse and would not quit the 
field till victory had crowned it, is a picture that hangs con- 
spicuously in the galleries of our history. The movement, 
prompt, original, and decisive, disclosed the general of raire 
ability ; the personal conduct avouched the hero. 

" 'Colonel Davis,' said General Taylor in his report, ' though 
severely wounded remained in the saddle until the close of the 
action. His distinguished coolness and gallantry at the head 
of his regiment on this day entitle him to the particular notice 
of the government.' 

" Colonel Davis won the battle of Buena Vista, and Buena 
Vista made General Taylor President. 

" As Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Pierce, a 
position which he only accepted after repeated solicitation, he 
was an officer second to none who has ever administered that 
department, in executive faculty and in benefits bestowed on 
the military service. 

" It was under his direction that George B. McClellan, then 
a captain, afterwards general-in-chief and commander of the 
Army of the Potomac, was sent with a commission to the 
Crimea to observe military operations and to study the tactics 
and conditions of the European armies there engaged; the 
result of which introduced many improvements. 

"There was nothing that came Avithin his jurisdiction that 
he did not methodize and seek to extend to the widest range of 
utility. Material changes were made in the model of arms. 
Iron gun-carriages were introduced and experiments made 
which led to the casting of heavy guns hollow, instead of boring 
them after the casting. The army was increased by two regi- 
ments of cavalry and two of infantry. Amongst his earnest 
recommendations were the revision of army regulations; the 
increase of the medical corps ; the introduction of light-infantry 
tactics ; rifled muskets and balls ; the exploration of the wes- 
tern frontiers, and the maintenance of large garrisons for the 
defense of settlers against the Indians. And there was no 
direction in which was not felt his comprehensive understand- 
ing and his diligent hand. 

" His etYorts to obtain increased pay for officers and men and 
pensions to their widows betokened those liberal sentiments to 
the defenders of their country which he never lost opportunity 
to evince or express. 

"He refused to carry politics into the matter of clerical 
appointments, and in selecting a clerk was indifferent Avhether 
he was a Democrat or a Whig. To get the best clerk was his sole 



272 THE DA VIS MEMOllIAL VOL VME. 

thought, and while I am not prepared to condemn as spoilsmen 
those who seek agents in unison with their principles, I can 
repvdily recognize the simplicity and loftiness of a nature which 
pays no heed to considerations of partisan advantage. 

"The confidence which he inspired was indicated by the 
trust reposed in him by Congress to take charge of the appro- 
priations made for the construction of the new Senate chamber 
and Hall of Representatives, and of those also to locate the most 
eligible route for the railway to connect the Mississippi Valley 
with the Pacific Coast. 

"The administration of Franklin Pierce closed in 1857, and 
it had presented the only instance in our history of a cabinet 
imchanged for four years in the individuals who composed it. 
None have filled the executive chairwith more fidelity to public 
interests than Franklin Pierce, and the words with which his 
Secretary of War eulogized him were worthily spoken by one 
to whom they were equally applicable : * Chivalrous, generous, 
amiable, true to his friends and his faith, frank and bold in his 
opinions, he never deceived any one. And if treachery had 
ever come near him it would have stood abashed in the presence 
of his truth, his manliness, and his confiding simplicity.' 
' " In his first public appearance in 1843 Mr. Davis had uttered 
the key-note of his political faith by moving to instruct the 
delegates from Mississippi to vote for John C. Calhoun as a 
presidential nominee in a National Democratic Convention. 

" Calhoun was, as he regarded, ' the most trusted leader of the 
South and the greatest and purest statesman of the Senate,' and 
while he did not concur in his doctrines of nullification, he 
adopted otherwise his constitutional views, and in the most 
part the politics which he advocated. Taking his seat in the 
House of Representatives in December, 1845, he at once 
launched into the work and debates of that body, and wdth his 
first address made that impression of eloquence and power 
which he maintained throughout his parliamentary career. 
John Quincy Adams is said to have predicted on hearing it that 
he would make his mark, and his prophecy was very soon ful- 
filled. He advocated in a resolution offered by himself tbe very 
first month of his service the conversion of some of the military 
posts into schools of instruction, and the substitution of 
detachments furnished proportionately by the States for the 
garrisons of enlisted men ; and on the 29th. cf the same month 
made a forcible speech against Know-Nothingifm, which was 
then becoming popular^ He had barely risen Intouistinguished 
view by bis positions and speeches on these and other subjects, 
such as the Mexican war and the Oregon question., ere he 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITORf 273 

resigned to take the field iu Mexico, and when he returned to 
]>ublic life after the Mexican war, it was as a member of the 
United States Senate. 

" It was in that body that his rich learning, his ready infor- 
mation on current topics, and his shining abilities as an orator 
and debater were displayed to most striking advantage. The 
great triumvirate Clay, Webster, and Calhoun were in the Sen- 
te then, as were also Cass, Douglas, Bright, Dickinson, King, 
'and others of renown, and when Calhoun ere long departed this 
life the leadership of the States'-Rights party fell upon Jeffer- 
son Davis. 

" The compromise measures of Mr. Clay of 1850 he opposed 
and insisted on adhering to the line of the Missouri compro- 
mise of 1820, on the ground that ' pacification had been the 
fruit borne by that tree and it should not have been ruthlessly 
hewn down and cast into the fire.' Meeting Mr. Clay and Mr. 
Berrien, of Georgia, together in the capitol grounds one day 
Mr. Clay urged him in a friendly way to support his bill, saying 
he thought it would give peace to the country for thirty years, 
and then he added to Mr. Berrien, ' You and I will he under the 
ground before that time, but our young friend hero may have 
trouble to meet.' 

" Mr. Davis replied : ' I cannot consent to transfer to posterity 
an issue that is as much ours as theirs, when it is evident that 
the sectional inequality will be greater than now and render 
hopeless the attainment of justice.' 

"This was his disposition, never to evade or shift responsi- 
bility, and that he did meet it is the reason why the issue is 
now settled, and that ourselves, not our children, were involved 
in civil war. 

" When Clay on one occasion bantered him to future discus- 
sion, 'now is the moment,' was his prompt rejoinder. But 
these collisions of debate did not chill the personal relations of 
these two great leaders. Henry Clay was full of that generosity 
which recognized the foeman worthy of his steel, and frequently 
evinced his admiration and friendship for Jefferson Davis. 
Besides, there was a tie between them that breatJied peace over 
all political antagonisms. Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, the son of 
the Whig leader, had been slain in the battle or Bueua Vista. 
'My poor boy,*' said he to Senator Davis, 'usually occupied 
about one half of his letters home in praising you,' and his 
eyes filled with tears. When turning to him once in debate, he 
said : ' My friend from Mississippi, and I trust that he will per- 
mit me to call him my friend, for between us there is a tie the 
nature of which we both understand.' 



274 THE DA VIS MEMOtllAL VoL VM£. 

"Without following, as indeed I could not in this brief hour, 
the bearings of questions that came before the Senate during 
his service, or portraying the scenes of digladiation in which 
they were dealt with, I but pronounce the general verdict when 
I say that his great parliamentary gifts ranked him easily with 
the foremost men of that body. He was measured by the side 
of the giants of his time and in nothing found unequal. 

" In connection with the Mexican war two speeches were 
made in the House of Representatives, which were filled with 
the doctrines which all Americans have inherited from the 
fathers of the republic. 

" The one of them was made by a man who with a mind as 
broad as the continent advocated the railroad to connect the 
Mississippi Valley with the West, and who poured out from 
a heart thrilling with the great traditions of his country inspir- 
ing appeal for fraternity and union. 

" ' We turn,' said he ' from present hostility to former friend- 
ship, from recent defection to the time when Massachusetts and 
Virginia, the stronger brothers of our family, stood foremost 
and united to defend our common rights. From sire to son has 
descended the love of our Union in our hearts, as in our his- 
tory are mingled the names of Concord and Camden, of York- 
town and Saratoga, of Monetrio and Plattsburgh, of Chippewa 
and Erie, of Bowyer and Guilford, and New Orleans and Bun- 
ker Hill. Grouped together they form a monument to the com- 
mon glory of our common country ; and where is the southern 
man who would wish that monument even less by one of the 
northern names that constitute the mass? Who, standing on the 
ground made sacred by the blood of Warren, could allow sec- 
tional feeling to curb his enthusiasm as he looked upon that 
obelisk which rises a monument to freedom's and his country's 
triumph, and stands a type of the time, the men, and event it 
commemorates ; built of material that mocks the waves of 
time, without niche or moulding for parasite or creeping thing 
to rest on, and pointing like a linger to the sky, to raise man's 
thoughts to philanthropic and noble deeds.' 

" Scarce had these words died upon the air when there arose 
another in the House of Representatives on February 12, 1848 
— one who had just voted that the war with Mexico was unnec- 
essary and unconstitutional, and who now based his views of 
the rights attaching by the conquest on the rights of revolu- 
tion. He said : 

" 'Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power, 
have the right to rise up and shake off the existing govern- 
ment and form a now one that suits them better. 



WAS B A VIS A TRAITOR? 27S 

'•'This is a most valuable and most sacred right — a right 
which wo hope and believe is to liberate the world. 

'"Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole 
people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. 

" ' Any portion of such people that can may revolutionize, 
putting down a minority intermingled with or near about them 
who oppose their movements. 

" ' Such a minority was precisely the case of the tories of the 
Revolution. It is a quality of revolutions not to go by old lines 
or old laws, but to break up both and make new ones.' 

" Who, think you, my countrymen, were these spokesmen? 

" The one who thus glorified the Union was the Kentucky 
boy who had moved to Mississippi, and was about to lead her 
soldiers under the stars and stripes in battle, and who now fills 
the grave of a disfranchised citizen. The other, who thus held 
up revolution as the right which was ' to liberate the world,' 
was Abraham Lincoln, the Kentucky boy who moved to Illinois, 
and who is now hailed ' as the defender and preserver of the 
nation.' 

" Success has elevated the one to a high niche in Fame's 
proud temple. But can failure deny to the other entrance 
there when we remember that the Temple of Virtue is the gate- 
way of the Temple of Fame? Both of them in their speeches 
then stood for American principles; both of them in their lives 
afterwards were the foremost champions of American princi- 
ples; both of them were revolutionists, and as such must be 
judged; and Jefferson Davis never advocated an idea that did 
not have its foundation in the Declaration of Independence; 
that was not deducible from the constitution of the United 
States as the fathers who made it interpreted its meaning ; 
that had not been rung into his ears and stamped upon his 
heart from the hour when his father baptized him in the name 
of Jefferson and he first saw the light in a commonwealth that 
was yet vocal with the State's-Right resolutions of 1798. 

" We cannot see the hand on the dial as it moves, but it does 
move nevertheless, and so surely as it keeps pace with the cir- 
cling sun, so surely will the hour come when the misunder- 
standings of the past will be reconciled and its clamors die 
away — and then it will be recognized by all that Jefferson Davis 
was more than the representative of a section, more than the 
intelligent guide of a revolution, more than the champion of 
secession. He will stand revealed as a political philosopher to 
be numbered amongst the groat expounders of American prin- 
ciples and the great heroes and champions of the Anglo-Saxon 
race. \Yhen the turbid streams of war have cleared and flow 



276 THE DA VIS 3IEM0R1AL VOL UMB. 

evenly in their channels it will be also seen that underneath 
the hostile currents which impelled two great peoples in colli- 
sion there was a unity of sentiment which, operating from 
different poles of circumstances and interest, threw into sepa- 
rate masses those who by natural instinct would have cohered 
together. 

" It is easier to note the difl'erences that float upon the surface 
of social organizations than to detect the congruities and iden- 
tities that He beneath them; and critics in their analyses of 
character are more prone to exhibit the striking antitheses of 
contrast than to linger upon the neutral colors which are com- 
mon and undistinguishing. 

" Some fancy that they discern the germs of the controversy 
of 1861 in differences between the groups of colonists which 
settled in Virginia and in Massachusetts, and which they 
think impressed upon the incipient civilizations of the North 
and South opposing characteristics. The one, they say, brought 
the notions of the Cavaliers, the other of the Puritans to 
America, and that an irrepressible conflict existed between 
them. To so believe is to be deceived by the merest surface 
indications. The Puritans and the Cavaliprs of England have 
long since settled their differences in the Old World, and 
become so assimilated that the tracer of old-time quarrel, and 
indeed of political identity, have been completely obliterated ; 
and it would be strange indeed if in little England they of the 
same race and language were thus blended, that in America, 
where social adaptation is so much easier and more rapid, 
they should have remained separate and hostile. Many Cav- 
aliers went to New England, and many Puritans came to Vir- 
ginia and the South, and their differences disappeared as 
quickly as they now disappear between disciples of different 
parties from different sections when thrown into new surround- 
ings with common interests. 

" To understand the causes of conflict we must consider the 
unities of our race and note the interventions of local causes 
Avhich differentiated its northern and southern segments. 

" When this is done it will be realized that each section has 
been guided by the predominant traits which it possessed in 
common, and which inhered in the very blood of its people, 
and that differences of ph3'sical surrounding, not the differ- 
ences of moral and intellectual character, led to their crystalli- 
zation in masses separated by diversities of interest and opin- 
ion and their resulting passions. These diverse interests and 
opinions sprung out of the very soil on which they made their 
homes even as the pine rises to towering heights in the granite 



WAS DAVIS A TEAITOR? 277 

liilJg of the North, and the palmetto spreads its luxuriant 
foliage on the southland. The bear of the Polar region takes 
his whiteness from the cold sky, and the bear of the tropics 
turns dark under the blazing heavens. The same breeze upon 
the high seas impels one ship north, another south, one east 
and another west according to the angle in which it strikes the 
sail. Natural causes operating under fixed laws changed the 
civilization of the North and South, but though their people 
were moved in opposite directions he who searches for the 
impelling forces will find them nearly, if not quite, identical. 

"What are the unities of our race? They are — first, aversion 
to human bondage ; second, race integrity ; third, thirst for 
power and broad empire; fourth, love of confederated union ; 
fifth, assertion of local liberty, if possible, within the bounds 
of geographical and govprnmontal union ; sixth, but assertion 
of local liberty and individual right under all circumstances, 
at all times, and at any cost. These traits are so strong as to 
be the natural laws of the race. One or another of them has 
lost its balance in the conflict between interest and instinct, 
but only to reappear with renewed vigor when the suppress- 
ing circumstances were removed ; and he who follows their 
operation will hold the key to the ascendancy of Anglo-Saxon 
character, and to its wonderful success in grasping imperial 
domains and crowning frpodom as their sovereign. 

" It will not do to dispute the existence of these natural laws 
of race, because they have been time and again overruled by 
greed,, by ambition, 'or by the overwhelming influence of alien 
or hostile forces. As well dispute the courage of the race 
because now and then a division of its troops have become 
demoralized and broken in battle. Through the force of these 
laws this race has gone around the globe with bugles and 
swords, and banners and hymn-books, and school-books and 
constitutions, and codes and courts, striking down old-time 
dynasties to ordain free principles; sweeping away barbaric 
and savage races that their own seed might be planted in fruit- 
ful lands ; disdaining miscegenation with inferior races, which 
corrupts the blood and degenerates the physical, mental, and 
moral nature ; widening the boundaries of their landed pos- 
sessions, parcelling them out in municipal sub-divisions, and 
then establishing the maximum of local and individual privi- 
lege consistent with the common defense and general welfare 
of their grand aggregations ; and then again rising in the 
supreme sovereignty of unfearing manhood against the oppres- 
sions of the tax-gatherer and the sword, re-casting their insti- 
tutions, flinging rulers from their high places, wrenching 



278 ^ THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL^OL UME.) 

government by the mailed hand into consistency with their 
happiness and safety, and proclaiming above all the faith of 
Jefferson — ' that liberty is the gift of God.' 

" I shall maintain that the Southern peoj^le have been as 
true to these instincts as any portion of their race, and have 
made for them as great sacrifices ; that the Southern Confed- 
eracy grew out of them, and only in a subsidiary degree in 
antagonism to any one of them ; and I shall also maintain that 
Jefferson Davis is entitled to stand in the Pantheon of the 
world's great men on a pedestal not less high than those erected 
for the images of Hampden, Sidney, Cromwell, Burke, and 
Chatham, of the fatherland, and Washington and Hamilton, 
Jefferson and Adams, Madison and Franklin, of the New 
AYorld, who, however varying in circumstances or in person- 
ality, were liberty-leaders and representatives of great peoples, 
great ideas, and great deeds. 

" On what ground will he be challenged? Did not the South- 
ern folk show originally an aversion to slavery more manifestly 
even than those of the North? South Carolina protested against 
it as early as 1727, and as late as 1760. Georgia prohibited it 
by law. Virginia sternly set her face against it and levied a 
tax of ten dollars per head on every negro to prevent it. They 
were all overridden by the avarice of English merchants and 
the despotism of English ministers. 'Do as you would be 
done by ' is not yet the maxim of our race, which will push 
off on its weaker brethren that it will not itself accept: 
and thus slavery was thrust on the South ; an uninvited — aye, 
a forbidd'^n guest. Quickly did the South stop the slave trade. 
Though the constitution forbade the Congress to prohibit it 
prior to 1808, when that year came every Southern State had 
itself prohibited it, Virginia leading the list. When Jefferson 
Davis was born it was gone altogether save in one State, South 
Carolina, where it had been revived under combination between 
large planters of the South and ship-owners and slave-traders 
of the North. 

" Fine exhibition, too, was that of unselfish Southern patri- 
otism when in 1787 by Southern votes and Virginia's gene- 
rosity, and under Jefferson's lead, the great northwestern 
territory was given to the Union and to freedom. 

" But the South yielded to slavery, we are told. Yes ; but 
did not all America do likewise? Do we not knoAV that the 
Pilgrim fathers enslaved both the Indian and African race, 
swapping young Indians for the more docile blacks, lest the 
red slave might escape to his native forest? 

" Listen to this appeal to Governor AYinthrop : ' Mr. Endicott 
and myself salute "-ou on the Lord Jesus. We have heard of a 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITOBf 279 

division of women and children and would be glad of a share 
— viz., a young woman or a girl and a boy if you think good.' 

" Do we not hear Winthrop himself recount how the Pequods 
were taken ' through the Lord's great mercy, of whom the males 
were sent to Bermuda and the females distributed through the 
bay towns to be employed as domestic servants ? ' Did not the 
prisoners of King Philip's war suffer a similar fate? Is it not 
written that when one hundred and fifty Indians came volun- 
tarily into the Plymouth garrison they were all sold into cap- 
tivity beyond the seas? Did not Downing declare to Winthrop 
'if upon a just war the Lord should deliver them (the Narra- 
gansetts) we might easily have men, women, and children 
enough to exchange for Moors, which will be more gainful pil- 
lage to us than we can conceive, for I do not see how we can 
thrive until we get in a stock of slaves sufficient to do all our 
business?' Were not choice parcels of negro boys and girls 
consigned to Boston from the Indies and advertised and sold 
at auction until after indei^endence was declared? Was not 
the first slave ship in America fitted out by the Pilgrim colony? 
Was not the first statute establishing slavery enacted in Mas- 
sachusetts in 1641, with a certain comic comprehensiveness 
providing that there should ' never be any bond slavery unless 
it be of captives taken in just war, or of such as willingly sold 
themselves or were sold to them?' Did not the united colonies 
of ^New England constitute the first American confederacy that 
recognized slavery; and was not the first fugitive slave law 
originated at their bidding? All this is true. Speak slowl}', 
then, ! man of the North, against the southern slave owners, 
or the southern chief, lest you cast down the images of your 
ancestors, and their spirits rise to rebuke you for treading 
harshly on their graves. On days of j^ublic festival when you 
hold them up as patterns of patriotism, take care lest you be 
accused of passing the counterfeit coin of praise. Disturb not 
too rudely the memories of the men who defended slavery ; say 
naught of moral obliquity, lest the venerable images of Win- 
throp and Endicott bo torn from the historic pages of the Pil- 
grim Land, and the fathers of Plymouth Rock be cast into 
utter darkness. 

" When independence was declared at Philadelphia in 1776, 
America was yet a unit in the possession of slaves, and when 
the constitution of 1787 was ordained the institution still 
existed in every one of the thirteen States save Massachusetts 
only. True its decay had begun where it was no longer profit- 
able, but every State united in its recognition in the Federal 
compact, and the very fabric of our representative government 



360 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

was built upon it, as three-fifths of the slaves were counted in the 
basis of representation in the Congress of the United States, 
and property in it was protected by rigid provisions regarding the 
rendition of fugitive slaves escaping from one State to another. 

" Thus embodied in the constitution, thus interwoven with 
the very integuments of our political system, thus sustained 
by the oath to support the constitution, executed by every 
public servant and by the decisions of the supreme tribunals, 
slavery was ratified by the unanimous voice of the nation, and 
was consecrated as an American institution and as a vested 
right by the most solemn pledge and sanction that man can 
give. 

" Deny to Jefferson Davis entry to the Temple of Fame be- 
cause he defended it? Cast out of it first the fathers of the 
republic. Brand with the mark of condemnation the whole 
people from whom he inherited the obligation, and by whom 
was imposed upon him the oath to support their deed. America 
must prostrate herself in sackcloth and ashes, repent her his- 
tory, and revile her creators and her being ere she can call 
recreant the man of 1861 who defended the heritage and 
promise of a nation. 

" There is a statue in Washington city of him who uttered 
the words 'charity to all, malice to none,' and he is represented 
in the act of breaking the manacles of a slave. 

" Suppose there were carved on its pedestal the words : 'Do 
the southern people really entertain fears that a Republican 
administration would directly or indirectly interfere Avith the 
slaves, or with them about their slaves? ' 

" ' The South would be in no more danger in this respect than 
it was in the days of Washington.' 

" This was his utterance December 22, 1860, after South 
Carolina had seceded. 

" Carve again : 

" ' I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with 
the institution of slavery in the States where it now exists. I 
believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclina- 
tion to do so.' These are the words of his inaugural address 
March 4, 1861. 

" Carve yet again : 

" ' Resolved, That this war is not waged upon our part with any 
purpose of overthrowing or interfering Avith the rights or estab- 
lished institutions of these States, but to defend and maintain 
the supremacy of the constitution and to preserve the Union.' 

"This resolution Congress passed (and he signed it) after 
the first battle of Manassas. 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITOBf 281 

• " And yet once more : 

'" ' I did not at any time say that I was in favor of negro suf- 
frage. I declared against it. I am not in favor of negro citizen- 
ship,' 

•" This opinion he never changed. 

" These things show in the light of events — the emancipation 
proclamation, the reconstruction acts, the black suffrage, the 
anarchy that reigned — that the South read truly the signs of the 
irrepressible conflict. 

" They show further that by the right of revolution alone can 
Abraham Lincoln be defended in overthrowing the institution 
which he pledged himself to guard like Washington, and with 
it the constitution which he had sworn ' to defend and main- 
tain.' And if Jefferson Davis appealed to the sword and need 
the mantle of charity to cover him, where would Lincoln stand 
unless the right of revolution stretched that mantle wide, and 
a gre^it people wrapped him in its mighty folds? 

" As time wore on the homogeneous order of the American 
people changed. It was not conscience but climate and soil 
which effected this change, or rather the instinct of aversion to 
bondage rose up in the North just in proportion as the tempta- 
tion of interest subsided. 

" The inhospitable soil of New England repelled the pursuits 
of agriculture and compelled to those of commerce and the 
mechanic arts. In these the rude labor of the untutored Afri- 
can was unprofitable, and the harsh climate was uncongenial 
to the children of the Dark Continent translated from its burn- 
ing suns to these frigid shores. Slavery there was an exotic ; 
it did not pay, and its roots soon decayed, like the roots of a 
tropic plant in the Arctic zone. 

" In the fertile plantations of the sunny South there was 
employment for the unskilled labor of the African, and under its 
genial skies he found a fitting home. Hence natural causes 
ejected him from the North and propelled him southward; and 
as the institution of slavery decayed in northern latitudes it 
thrived and prospered in the southern clime. 

" The demand for labor in the North was rapidly supplied by 
new accessions of Europeans, and as the population increased 
their opinions were moulded by the body of the society which 
absorbed and assimilated them as they came ; while on the 
other hand the presence of masses of black men in the 
South, and the reliance upon them for labor, repelled in })oth 
social and economical aspects the European immigrants who 
eagerly sought for homes and emplovnipnt in the New World. 
More than this, northern manufacturers wanted high tariffs to 



282 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

secure high prices for their products in southern markets, and 
southern farmers wanted low tariifs that they might buy 
cheaply. Ere long it appeared that two opposing civilizations 
lay alongside of each other in the United States ; and while the 
roof of a common government was over both of them, it cov- 
-:>red a household divided against itself in the very structure of 
]ts domestic life, in the nature of its avocations, in the econo- 
mies of its labor, and in the very tone of its thought and aspi- 
ration. 

" Revolution was in the air. An irrepressible conflict had 
arisen. 

" There were indeed two revolutions forming in the American 
republic. The one was a northern revolution against a consti- 
tution which had become distasteful to its sentiments and 
unsuited to its needs. As the population of the east moved 
westward across the continent the southern emigrant to the new 
territories wished to carry with him his household servants, 
while the northerner saw in the negro a rival in the field of 
labor, which cheapened its fruits and degraded, as he conceived, 
its social status. 

" Thus broke out the strife which raged in the territories of 
northern latitudes, and as it widened' it assailed slavery in 
every form, and denounced as ' a covenant with death and with 
hell ' the constitution which had guaranteed its existence. 

" The formula of the northern revolution was made by such 
men as Charles Sumner, who took the ground of the higher law, 
that the constitution was itself unconstitutional, and that it 
was not in the power of man to create by oath or mandate pro- 
perty in a slave; a revolutionary idea striking to the root and 
to the subversion of the fundamental law which Washington, 
Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, and their compeers had 
joined in making, and under which the United States had 
fought its battle and attained its Avonderful growth for three 
quarters of a century. 

'"The Impending Crisis,' Helper's book, appeared, and, 
endorsed by sixty-eight abolition members of Congress, went 
far and wide. The spirit of the times is indicated in its doc- 
trines. 'Never another vote for a slavery advocate; no co-ope- 
ration with slavery in politics; no fellowship in religion; no 
affiliation in society; no patroiiage to pro-slavery merchants; 
no guestship in a slave-waiting hotel ; no fee to a pro-slavery 
lawyer; none to a pro-slavery physician ; no audience to a pro- 
slavery parson; no subscription to a pro-slavery newspaper; 
no hiring of a slave; but the utmost encouragement of ^ Free 
White Labor. ^ ' Fkee Whitp: Labor!' This Avas the northern 
giant that stalked into the field. 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 283 

" Meantime, the Northern revolution against the constitution 
WPS being combatted by the rise of the Southern revolution 
looking to withdrawal from a Union whose constitution was 
unacceptable to the Northern people. 

" But it was not hatred to Union or love of slavery that in- 
spired the South nor love of the negro that inspired the North. 
Profounder thoughts and interests lay beneath these currents. 
The rivalry of cheap negro labor, aversion to the negro and to 
slavery alike were the spurs of Northern action ; that of the 
South was race integrity. Free White Dominion ! The South- 
ern giant rose and faced its foe. 

" The instinct of race integrity is the most glorious, as it is 
the predominant characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon race, and 
the sections have it in common. Fiercely did it sweep the red 
men before it; swiftly did it brush away the Chinese in the 
M^est and North, burning their homes, cutting their throats 
when they pressed too hard in rivalry, and then breaking 
treaties to hurl them back across the Pacific ocean to their na- 
tive shores. Four million of black men lived in the South side 
by side with the white race ; and race integrity now incensed 
the South to action. 

" Look farther southward beyond the confines of our country 
and behold how the Latin races have commingled their blood 
with the aborigines and the negroes, creating mongrel repub- 
lics and empires where society is debased and Avhere govern- 
ments resting on no clear principles, swing like pendulums 
between the extremes of tyranny and license. 

" On the contrary, the American element at the South, and I 
quote a profound Northern waiter in saying it, 'guarded itself 
with the strictest jealousy from any such baleful contamina- 
tions.' But what a picture of horror rose before its eyes as it 
contemplated the freeing of the slaves. John C. Calhoun had 
drawn that picture in vivid colors which now recalling the days 
of carpet-bag and negro ascendancy seems like a prophet's 
vision. *If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South,' 
said Robert Lee, 'I would sacrifice all for the Union.' And so 
indeed would the southern people. But Lee never indicated 
how such sacrifice could obtain its object, nor was it possible 
that it could. It was not the property invested in the slave 
that stood in the way, for emancipation with compensation for 
them was then practicable, and was again practicable in early 
stages of the war, and was indeed offered. But free the slaves, 
they would become voters ; becoming voters they would pre- 
dominate in numbers, and so predominating what would be- 
come of white civilization ? 



2S4 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

" This was the question which prevented emancipation in 
Virginia in 1832. Kill slavery — what will you do with the 
corps'e? Only silent mystery and awful dread answered that 
question in 1861, while the clamors of abolition grew louder, 
and the forces were accumulating strength to force the issue. 
In fourteen northern States the fugitive slave law had been 
nullified. In new territories armed mobs denied access to 
southern masters with their slaves. Negro equality became a 
text of the hustings and incendiary appeals to the slaves them- 
selves to murder and burn filled the mails. 

" The insurrection of Nat Turner had given forecast of scenes 
as horrible as those of the French revolution, and the bloody 
butcheries of San Domingo seemed like an appalling warning 
of the drama to be enacted on southern soil. 

" The crisis was now hastened by two events. In 1854 the 
Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision declared the Missouri 
compromise of 1820, which limited the extension of slavery to 
a certain line of latitude, unconstitutional. This was welcome 
to the South but it fired the northern heart. In 1859 John 
Brown, fresh from the border warfare of Kansas, suddenly 
appeared at Harper's Ferry with a band of misguided men, and 
murdering innocent citizens invoked the insurrection of the 
slaves. This solidified and almost frenzied the South and in 
turn the fate he suffered threw oil upon the northern flames. 
Thus fell out of the gathering clouds the first big drops of the 
bloody storm. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President, 
and in his inaugural address he proclaimed his party's creed 
that the Dred Scott decision might be reversed. The southern 
States were already in procession of secession. The high tides 
of the revolution were in their flow. 

" Pause now upon the threshold, and geography and history 
will alike tell you that neither in its people nor its leader was 
there lack of love for the Union, and that it was with sad hearts 
that they saw its ligaments torn asunder. Look at the south- 
ern map. There may be read the name of Alamance, where in 
1771, the first drop of American blood was shed against arbi- 
trary taxation, and at Mecklenburg, where was sounded the first 
note of independence. Before the declaration at Philadelphia 
there had risen in the southern sky what Bancroft termed ' the 
bright morning star of American Independence,' where on the 
28th of June, 1776, the guns of Moultrie at the Palmetto fort 
in front of Charleston announced the first victory of American 
arms. At King's Mountain is the spot Avhere the rough-and- 
ready men of the Carolinas and the swift riders of Virginia 
and Tennessee had turned the tide of victory in our favor, and 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f ' 285 

there at Yorktowu is the true birthspot of the free nation. 
Right here I stand to-night on the soil of that State which first 
of all America stood alone free and independent. Beyond the 
confines of the South her sons had rendered yeoman service ; and 
would not the step of the British conqueror have been scarce 
less than omnipotent had not Morgan's riflemen from the Val- 
ley of Virginia, and the peerless commander of Mount Vernon, 
appeared on the plains of Boston? You may follow the tracks 
of the Continentals at Long Island, Saratoga, Trenton, Princr- 
ton, Brandy wine, Germantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, and 
Morristown by the blood and the graves of the Southern men 
who died on Northern soil, far away from their homes, answer- 
ing the question with their lives: Did the South love the 
Union? 

" Did not the South love American institutions? "What school 
boy cannnot tell? Who wrote the great declaration? Who 
threw down the gage, 'Liberty or Death?' Who was the chief 
framer of the constitution? Who became its great expounder? 
Who wrote the bill of rights which is copied far and wide by 
free commonwealths? Who presided over the convention that 
made the constitution and became in field and council its all- 
in-all defender? Jefferson, Henry, Madison, Marshall, Mason, 
Washington, speak from your graves and give the answer. 

" Did not the South do its part in acquiring the imperial 
domain of the nation? When the revolution ended the thir- 
teen States that lay on the Atlantic seaboard rested westward 
in a wilderness, and the Mississippi marked the extreme limits 
of their claims, as the Appalachain range marked the bounds 
of civilization. The northwestern terrritory, north of the Ohio 
river, which now embraces Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 
and Wisconsin, was conquered by George Rogers Clarke, a 
soldier of Virginia, under commission from Patrick Henry, as 
governor. But for this conquest the Ohio would have been our 
northern boundary, and by Virginia's gift and Southern votes 
this mighty land was made the dowery of the Union. 

"Kentucky, the first-born State that sprung from the Union, 
was a Southern gift to the new confederation. The great terri- 
tory stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky Moun- 
tain's gate and to far off Oregon, was acquired by Jefferson as 
President from Napoleon, then first consul of France, and the 
greatest area ever won by diplomacy in history, added to the 
Union. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, offered the bill 
in 1812 which proclaimed the second war of independence. 
President Madison, of Virginia, led the country through it, and 
at New Orleans, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, achieved its 
culminating victory. 



286 TH£! DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLVME. 

"It is a Northern Bcliolar, Theodore Roosevelt, who says: 
' Throughout all the fighting in the northwest, where Ohio was 
the State most threatened, the troops of Kentucky formed the 
bulk of the American army, and it was a charge of their 
mounted riflemen which at a blow won the battle of the Thames. 

" 'Again on the famous January morning, when it seemed as 
if the fair Creole city was already in Packenham's grasp, it was 
the wild soldiery of Tennessee, who laying behind their mud 
breastworks, peered out through the lifting fog at the scarlet 
array of the English veterans, as the latter, fresh from their 
victories over the best troops of Europe, advanced for the first 
time to meet defeat.* 

" In 1836 Samuel Houston, sprung from the soil of that very 
county Avhich now holds the ashes of Lee and Jackson, won the 
battle of San Jacinto, and achieved Texan independence. In 
1845, under James K. Polk, of Tennessee, a Southern President, 
it was admitted into the Union, and a little later the American 
armies, led by two Southern generals, Zachary Taylor and Win- 
field Scott, and composed more than half of Southern soldiers, 
made good the cause of the Lone Star State, enlarged its boun- 
daries, and acquired New Mexico and California. Thus was 
stretched the canopy of the wide heavens that now spread over 
the American republic ; and counting the constellation of 
forty-two stars that glitter in it, forget not, ye who have senti- 
ment of justice, that over thirty of them were sown there by 
measures and by deeds in which Southern States and Southern 
soldiers took a leading part, and in which the patriotism and 
love of Union of the South never faltered. 

" If the people with such a history could have adopted seces- 
sion mighty indeed musthavebeen the propulsion to it. I shall 
not discuss its policy, for it would be as vain a thing to do 
as to discuss that of the Revolution of 1776. Each revolution 
concluded the question that induced it. Slavery w^as the cause 
of our civil war, and with the war its cause perished. But it 
should be the desire of all to understand each other and to 
think well of each other, and the mind capable of just and 
intelligent reflection should not fail in judging the past to 
remember the conditions and views that controlled the south- 
ern people and their leader. 

" Remember that their forefathers with scarce less attach- 
ment to the British government, and with less conflict of 
interest, had set the precedent, seceding themselves from the 
British empire, tearing down ancient institutions, revolutioniz- 
ing the very structure of society, and giving proud answer to 
all accusers in the new evangel of the west that the people 



Was i>AVlS A TRAITOR? 287 

have a right to alter or abolish government whenever it beconif^a 
destructive to their happiness or safety. 

" I have found nowhere evidence that Jefferson Davis urged 
secession, though he believed in the right, approved the act of 
Mississippi after it had been taken, felt himself bound by his 
Sta-te allegiance whether he approved or no, and then, like all 
his Southern countrj^men, did his best to make it good. Re- 
member that the Federal constitution was silent as to seces- 
sion, that the question was one of inference only, and that 
implications radiated from its various provisions in all direc- 
tions. 

" If one argued that the very institute of government implied 
perpetuity, as Lincoln did in his first inaugural address, 
another answered that reservation to the States of powers not 
delegated rebutted the implication ; another that the govern- 
ment and the constitution had come into being in that free 
atmosphere which breathed the declaration that they must rest 
upon the consent of the governed ; and yet another answered 
in Lincoln's own language that any people anywhere had the 
right to fhake off a government, and that this was the right 
that 'would liberate the world.' 

" Rememuer ihat this right of secession had never been 
denied until recent years, that it had been preached upon the 
hustings, enunciated in political platforms, proclaimed in the 
Senate and in the House of Representatives, embodied in our lit- 
erature, taught in schools and colleges, interwoven with the 
texts of jurisprudence, and maintained by scholars, statesmen 
and constituencies of all States and sections of the country, 

" Remember, furthermore, that secession was an open ques- 
tion in 1861. No statute had ever declared, no executive had ever 
proclaimed, no court had held it to be unconstitutional. The 
States had declared themselves to be free and independent, 
American sovereignty was hydra-headed, and each State had its 
own statute, defining and punishing treason against itself. No 
man could have an independent citizenship of the United 
States, but could only acquire citizenship of the federation by 
virtue of citizenship of one of the States. The eminent domain 
of the soil remained in the State; and to it escheated the prop- 
erty of the interstate and heirless dead. Was not this the sov- 
ereign that 'had the right to command in the last resort'? 

" Tucker had so taught in his commentaries on Blackstone, 
writing from old Williamsburg; so Francis Rawle, the eminent 
lawyer whom Washington had asked to be Attorney-General, 
writing on the constitution in Philadelphia ; and so DeTocque- 
ville, the most acute and profound of foreign writers on Amer- 
ican institutions. 



/2SS THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" AVhere could an arbiter be found? There was no method o{ 
invoking the Supreme Court; it had no jurisdiction to coerce a 
State or summon it to its bar. Nor could its decree be final. 
For it is a maxim of our jurisprudence littered by Jefferson, 
and reiterated by Lincoln in his first inaugural address, that 
its decisions may be reconsidered and reversed and bind only 
the clients. 

" Recall the history of the doctrine, forgot not that the first 
mutterings of secession had come from the North as early as 
1793, in opposition to the threatened war with England, when 
the sentiments uttered by Theodore Dwight in his letter to 
Wolcott were widespread: ' Sooner would ninety-nine out of a 
hundred of our inhabitants separate from the Union than 
plunge themselves into an ain'ss of misery.' 

"Nullification broke out in the South in 1798 led by Jeffer- 
son, and again in 1830 led by Calhoun, but in turn secession or 
nullification was preached in and out of congress, in State legis- 
latures, in mass meetings and conventions in 1803, 1812, and in 
1844 to 1850, and in each case in opposition made by the North 
to wars or measures conducted to win the empire and solidify 
the structure of the Union. 

" While Jefferson was annexing Louisiana, Massachusetts 
legislators were declaring against it as 'forming anew confede- 
racy to which the States united by the former compact were 
not bound to adhere.' 

" While new States were being admitted into the Union out 
of its territory and the war of 1812 was being conducted Josiah 
Quincy was maintaining the right of secession in Congress ; the 
eastern States were threatening to exercise that right, and the 
Hartford convention was promulgating the doctrine. 

" When Texas was annexed and Jefferson Davis was in Con- 
gress advocating it Massachusetts was declaring it unconstitu- 
tional and that any such ' act or admission would have no bind- 
ing obligation on its people.' 

" While the Mexican war was being fought and the soldier- 
statesman of Mississippi was carrying the stars and stripes in 
glory over the heights of Monterey, and bleeding vmder them 
in the battle shock of Buena Vista, Abraham Lincoln was 
denouncing the war as iinconstitutional and Northern multi- 
tudes were yet applauding the eloquence of the Ohio orator 
who had said in Congress that the Mexicans should welcome 
our soldiers ' with bloody hands to hospitable graves.' 

" Consider these grave words, which are but freshh^ written 
in the life of Webster by Henry Cabot Lodge, who is at this 
time a Republican representative in Congress from the city of 
Boston, Mass. 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 289 

"When the constitution was adopted by the votes of States 
at Philadelphia and accepted by votes of States in popular con- 
ventions it was safe to say there was not a man in the country, 
from Washington and Hamilton on the one side to George Clin- 
ton and George Mason on the other, who regarded the new sys- 
tem as anything but an experiment entered upon by the States, 
and from which each and every State had the right to peaceably with- 
dratv — a right tvhich ivas very likely to be exercised.* 

" Recall the contemporary opinions of Northern publicists and 
leading journals. The Kew York Herald considered coercion 
out of the question. On the 9th of November, 1860, the New 
York Tribune, Horace Greeley being the editor, said : 

" ' If the cotton States shall decide that they can do better 
out of the Union than in it we insist on letting them go in 
peace. The right to secede may be a revolutionary one, but it 
exists nevertheless, and we do not see how one party can have 
a right to do what another party has a right to prevent. We 
must ever resist the asserted right of any State to remain in 
the Union and nullify or defy the laws thereof; to Avithdraw 
from the Union is quite another matter.* 

"This was precisely the creed of Jefferson Davis. 

"Again, on the 17th of December, after the secession of the 
South Carolina, that journal said: 

" 'If the Declaration of Independence justified the secer^sion 
from the British empire of three millions of colonists in 1776 
we do not see why it would not justify the secession 3f five 
millions of Southerners from the Federal Union in 1861. If 
"we are mistaken on this point why does not some one attempt 
to show wherein and why?' 

" And yet again on the 23d of February, after Mr. Davis had 
been inaugurated as President at Montgomery, it said : 

" ' We have repeatedly said, and we Dncc more insist, that 
the great principal embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration 
of American Independence that governments derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed is sound and just, and 
that if the slave States, the cotton States, or the Gulf States 
only choose to form an independent nation they have clear 
moral right to do so.' 

" The controlling truth was that two incompatible and hos- 
tile civilizations were in ceaseless conflict, and the balance of 
power between them, like the balance of power in Europe, domi- 
nated the politics of the country. There was equilibrium 
betwen these rival powers and sections when their race began 
and each in turn threatened secession as the equilibrium trem- 
bled to the one side or the other. 
19 



290 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" This was the cause of northern hostility to the Louisiana, 
the Texas, and Mexican annexations, and this the cause of 
southern contention for territorial rights in Kansas and Ne- 
braska. 

" Having given the Korth generous advantage in the north- 
western territory in 1787, and foreseeing the doom of her insti- 
tutions and the upheaval of her society, with the balance of 
power lost to her, and unable to maintain herself in the Union 
on an issue which involved not only two thousand millions of 
property, but far more than that, the peace of society, and the 
integrity, purity, and liberty of the white race, the South 
adopted in 1861 the measure which the northern States had 
often threatened but never attempted against the Union, the 
measure which all Americans had not only attempted, but had 
consecrated as just in principle and vindicated by deed in 1776. 

" The historian will note that while the United States de- 
clared war on the ground that secession was treason, they prac- 
tically treated it as a political question of territorial integrity. 
They accorded belligerent rights to the Confederacy, exchanged 
prisoners, and gave paroles of war, and revolutionized all theo- 
ries and constitutional mandates to carry their main point — 
the preservation of the Union. General Grant says of their 
legislation in his memoirs : ' Much of it was no doubt uncon- 
stitutional, but it was hoped that the laws enacted would sub- 
serve their purpose before their constitutionality could be sub- 
mitted to the judiciary and a decision obtained.' Of the war 
he says : ' The constitution was not framed with a view to any 
such rebellion as that of 1861-65. While it did not authorize 
rebellion it made no provision against it. Yet,' he adds, * the 
right to resist or suppress rebellion is as inherent as the 
right of an individual to preserve his life when it is in jeopardy. 
The constitution was, therefore, in abeyance for the time being, 
so far as it in any way affected the progress and termination 
of the war.' 

" This is revolution. 

" Indicted for treason Jefferson Davis faced his accusers with 
the uplifted brow and dauntless heart of innocence, and eagerly 
asked a trial. If magnanimity had let him pass, it would have 
been appreciated, but they who punished him without a hearing 
before they set him free, now proceeded to amend the constitu- 
tion to disfranchise him and his associates, finding, like Grant, 
nothing in it, as it stood against such movement as he led. 

" It may be that but for the assassination of President Lin- 
coln — mo^ infamous and unhappy deed — which 

" ' Uproared the universal peace 
;And poured the milk of concord into hell,' 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 291 

the country would have been spared the shame of President 
Davis's cruel incarceration, and the maiming of the constitution. 

" For I can scarcely believe that he who three times overruled 
emancipation; who appealed to 'indispensable necessity' as 
justification for ' laying strong hands on the colored element;' 
who candidly avowed Northern ' complicity ' in the wrongs of 
hia time ; who said, ' I claim not to have controlled events, but 
confess plainly that events have controlled me ' ; who had 
preached revolution in 1848, and revolutionized all things to 
save the Union in 1862 — I can scarce believe it possible that 
one of his broad mind and generous heart would have perse- 
cuted an honorable foe. It has been a wonder to me that those 
who justly applaud his virtues have not copied his example ; 
wonder, indeed, that all men have not seen that the events 
which controlled him controlled also his antagonist. 

"The United States have been unified by natural laws, kin- 
dred to those which unified the South in secession, but greater 
because wider spread. Its physical constitution in 1861 ans- 
wered to the Northern mind the written constitution, and the 
traditions of our origin to which the South appealed. The 
Mississippi river, the natural outlet of a new-born empire to 
the sea, was a greater interpreter to it than the opinions of 
statesmen who lived when the great new commonwealths were 
yet in the wilderness, and before the great republic spanned 
the father of waters. 

" The river seeking its bed as it rolls oceanward pauses not 
to consider whose are the boundaries of the estates through 
which it flows. If a mountain barrier stands in way it forms 
a lake until the accumulated waters break through the impeding 
wall or dash over it in impetuous torrents. So nations in 
their great movements seem to be swept out of the grooves 
defined by the laws of man, and are oftentimes propelled to 
destinies greater than those conjured in their dreams. 

"The rivalry, not the harmony of sections, won the empire 
of the Union ; its physical constitution proved more powerful 
than its written one ; in the absence of a judge all appealed to 
the jury of the sword. We belong to a high-handed race and 
understand the law of the sword, for the men of independence 
in 1776 and 1861 were of the same blood as those who in each 
case cried, 'Disperse, ye rebels.' And were I of the North I 
would prefer to avow that it made conquest by the high hand 
than coin the great strife that marshalled over three millions 
of soldiers into police-court technicalities and belittle a revo- 
lution continent-wide into the quelling of an insurrection, and 
the vicarious punishment of its leader. The greatest co-nqueror 
proclaims his naked deed. 



292 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" As we are not oi the North but of the South, and are now 
like all Americans, both of and for the Union, bound up in its 
destinies, contributing to its support and seeking its welfare, 
I feel that as he was the hero in war who fought the bravest, so 
he is the hero now Who puts the past in its truest light, does 
justice to all, and knows no foe but him who revives the hates 
of a bygone generation. 

" If we lost by war a Southern union of thirteen States, we 
have yet a common part in a continental union of forty-two, 
to which our fathers gave their blood, and upon which they 
shed their blessings, and a people who could survive four years 
of such experience as we had in 1861-65, can work out their 
own salvation on any spot of earth that God intended for man's 
habitation. We are in fact in our father's home, and it should 
be, as it is, our highest aim to develop its magnificent possibil- 
ities and make it the happiest dwelling place of the children of 
men. 

" The Southern leader was no secessionist per sc. His ante- 
cedents, his history, his services, his own earnest words often 
uttered, attest his love of the Union and his hope that it 
might endure. In 1853, in a letter to Hon. William J. Brown, 
of Indiana, he repudiated the imputation that he was a dis- 
unionist. 

" ' Pardon, he said, ' pardon the egotism in consideration of 
the occasion when I say to you that my father and uncles 
fought in the Revolution of 1776, giving their youth, their 
blood, and their little patrimony to the constitutional freedom 
Avhich I claim as my inheritance. Three of my brothers fought 
in the war of 1812, two of them were comrades of the Hero of 
the Hermitage, and received his commendation for gallantry 
at New Orleans. At sixteen years of age I was given to the ser- 
vice of my country. For twelve years of my life I have borne 
its arms and served it zealously if not well. As I feel the in- 
firmities which suffering more than age has brought upon me, 
it would be a bitter reflection indeed if I was forced to conclude 
that my countrymen would hold all this light when weighed 
against the empty j)anegyric which a time-serving politician can 
bestow upon the Union, for which he never made a sacrifice. 

"'In the Senate I announced if any respectable man would 
call me a disunionist I would answer him in monosyllables. 
But I have often asserted the right for which the battles of the 
Revolution were fought, the right of a people to change their gov- 
ernment whenever it was found to be oppressive and subversive 
of the objects for which governments are instituted, and have 
contended for the independence and sovereignty of the States ; 



WAS DAVIS A TEAITOBf 293 

a part of the creed of which Jefferson '.van the apostle, Madi- 
son the expounder, and Jackson the consistent defender.' 

" Four years later, when Senator Fessenden, of Maine, said, 
turning to him, ' I have avowed no disunion sentiments on this 
floor, can the honorable gentleman from Mississippi say as 
much?' Mr. Davis answered: * Yes, I have long sought for 
a respectable man to allege the contrary.' And the imputation 
ended with the unanswered challenge to produ:e the evidence. 
Even when secession seemed a foregone conclusior, Mr. Davis 
strove to avert it, being ready at any time to adopt the Critten- 
den measures of compromise if they Trere accepted by the oppo- 
sition, and when the Representatives and Senators from Mis- 
sissippi were called in conference with the governor of that 
State in December, 1860, he still advised lorbearance ' as long 
as any hope of a peaceful remedy remained,' declaring that he 
felt certain from his knowledge of the people North and South 
that ' if once there was a clash of armc the contest would be 
one of the most sanguinary the world had ever witnessed.' 
But a single member of the conference agreed with him ; seve- 
eral of its members were so dissatisfied with his position that 
they believed him entirely opposed to secession and as ricoking 
delay with the hope that it might be averted ; and the majority 
overruling his counsels, he then announced that he would 
stand by any action which might be taken by the convention 
representing the sovereignty of the State of Missiseippi. Thus 
he stood on the brink of war, conservative, collected, apprecia- 
ting the solemn magnitude of the crisis, and, although the pen- 
cil of hostile passion has otherwise portrayed him, I do not 
believe there was a man living in 1861 who could have uttered 
more sincerely than he the words of Addison, * Is there not 
some chosen curse, some hidden thunder in the stars of Heaven, 
red with uncommon wrath to blast the man who owes his great- 
ness to his country's ruin V 

" Pleading still for conciliation, on January 10, 1861, it was 
the heart of a patriot and not that of the ambitious aspirant 
from which flowed these words : 

" ' What, Senators, to-day is the condition of the country? 
From every corner of it comes the wailing cry of patriotism 
pleading for the preservation of the great inheritance ;ve do« 
rived from our fathers. Is there a Senator who does not daily 
receive letters appealing to him to use even the small power 
which one man here possesses to save the rich inheritance our 
fathers gave us? Tears are trickling down the faces of men 
who have bled for the flag of their country and are willing now 
to die for it; but patriotism stands powerless befcro the plaa- 



294 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

that the party about to come to power adopted a platform, and 
that come what will, though ruiu stare us in the face, consis- 
tency must be adhered to, even though the government be 
lost.' 

" Even as he spoke, though perhaps as yet unknown to him, 
Mississippi the day before had passed the ordinance of seces- 
sion. 

" On the 20th of January he rose in the Senate to announce 
that fact, and that ' of course his functions there were termi- 
nated.' 

" In language characterized by dignity and moderation, in 
terms as decorous and in sentiments as noble as became a sol- 
emn crisis and a high presence, he bade farewell to the Senate. 

" ' In the course of my service here,' he said, * associated at 
different times with a great variety of Senators, I see now around 
me some with whom I have served long. There may have been 
points of collision, but whatever of offence there has been to 
me I leave here. I carry with me no hostile remembrance. 
Whatever offence I have given which has not been redressed, or 
for which satisfaction has not been demanded, I have. Senators, 
in this hour of our parting to offer you .my apology for any 
pain which in the heat of discussion I have inflicted. I go 
hence unincumbered of the remembrance of any injury received, 
and I have discharged the duty of making the only reparation 
in my power for any injury offered.' 

'' In clear statement he summarized his political principles : 

" 'It is known to you, Senators, who have served with me 
here, that I have for many years advocated as an essential 
attribute of State sovereignty the right of a State to secede 
from the Union;' but he hoped none would 'confound this 
expression Avith the advocacy of the right of a State to remain in 
the Union and to disregard the constitutional obligation by the 
nullification of the law. Such is not my theory.' 'Secession 
belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified 
upon the basis of State sovereignty. There was a time when 
none denied it.' 

" He pointed out that the position he then assumed was the 
same that he had occupied when Massachusetts had been 
arraigned at the bar of the Senate, and when the doctrine of 
coercion was ripe and to be applied against her because of the 
rescue of a fugitive slave in Boston. * My opinion then was 
the same as it is now. I then said that if Massachusetts chose 
to take the last step which separates her from the Union, it is 
her right to go, and I will neither vote one dollar nor one man 
to force her back ; but will say to her God speed, in memory of 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITOBf 295 

the kind associations which once existed between her and the 
other States.* 

" In conchiding, he said : ' I find in myself perhaps a type of 
the general feeling of my constituents towards yours. I am 
sure I feel no hostility toward you, Senators from the North. 
I am sure there is not one of you, whatever sharp discussions 
there may have been between us, to whom I cannot now say in 
the presence of my God, I wish you well, and such I am sure is 
the feeling of the people whom I represent towards those whom 
you represent. 

" 'I, therefore, feel that I but express their desire when I say 
I hope, and they hope, for peaceable relations with }'ou, though 
we must part. 

" 'They may be mutually beneficial to us in the future, as 
they have been in the past, if you so will it. 

" 'The reverse may bring disaster on every portion of our 
country, and if you will have it thus, we will invoke the God 
of our fathers who delivered them from the power of the Lion to 
protect us from the ravages of the Bear, and thus, putting our 
trust in God and in our firm hearts and strong arms, we will 
vindicate the right as best we may.' 

"Well was that pledge redeemed. South Carolina, Florida, 
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, and 
North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee, all seceded, while 
Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland were divided in sentiment. 
Jefferson Davis became by unanimous selection, President of 
the Confederate States of America, the capital first planted at 
Montgomery was removed here to Richmond, and for four years 
the new republic waged for its life the mightiest warfare of 
modern times. 'There was something melancholy and grand,' 
says a Northern historian, ' in the motives that caused Virginia 
at last to make common cause' with the South. Having made 
it she has borne her part with a sublimity of heroism such as 
was never surpassed, and has uttered no cry in the majesty of 
her sorrows. 

" No State had done more for peace than Virginia, as none 
had done more originally for Union ; no State more reluctantly 
or more unselfishly drew the sword ; no State wielded a brighter 
or sterner blade after it was drawn ; no State suffered so much 
by it; no State used triumph with more generosity or faced 
defeat with greater dignity ; no State has abided the fate of 
war with greater magnanimity or greater wisdom ; and no State 
turns her face with fairer hope or steadier courage to the future. 
It seemed the very sarcasm of destiny that the Mother of States 
should have been the only one of all the American Common- 



296 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

wealths that was cut in twain by the sword. But it is the 
greatness of spirit, not the size of the body, that malces the 
character and glory of the State, as of the man ; and old Vir- 
ginia was never worthier the love of her sons and the respect 
of all mankind than to-day as she uncovers her head by the 
bier of the dead chieftain whose fortunes she followed in storm 
and trial, and to whose good fame she will be true, come weal, 
come woe. 

" I shall make no post-mortem examination of the Confed- 
eracy in search of causes for its fall. When an officer during 
the war was figuring on prospects of success General Lee said 
to him : ' Pat up your pencil, colonel ; if we follow the calcu- 
lations of figures we are whipped already.' 

"Twenty millions of people on the one side, nine millions 
(and half of them slaves) on the other; a great navy, arsenals, 
armories, factories, railroads, boundless wealth and science, and 
an open world to draw upon for resources and reinforcements 
upon the one side, and little more than a thin line of poorly- 
armed and half-fed soldiery upon the other, pitted one man 
against two — a glance of the eye tells the story of the unequal 
contest. As my noble commander, General Early, said: 'I 
Avill not speculate on the causes of failure, as I have seen abun- 
dant causes for it in the tremendous odds brought against us.' 

"That President Davis made mistakes I do not doubt; but 
the percentage of mistakes was so small in the sum of his ad- 
ministration and its achievements so transcended all propor- 
tions of means and opportunities that mankind will never 
cease to wonder at their magnitude and their splendor. 

" Finances went wrong, some say. Finances always go wrong 
in failures; but not worse in this case than in the Revolution 
of 1776, when Washington was at the head. So far did they 
go wrong then that not even success could rescue the worthless 
paper money of our fathers from repudiation and oblivion, and 
even to this day the very worst fling that can be made at the 
Confederate note reaches a climax in the expression, ' It is not 
worth a continental.' 

"Blame Jefferson Davis for this or that; discount all that 
critics say, and then behold the mighty feat which created and 
for four years maintained a nation ; behold how armies without 
a nucleus were marshalled and armed — how a navy, small in- 
deed, but one that revolutionized the naval warfare of all 
nations and became the terror of the seas, was fashioned out 
of old hulks or picked up in foreign places; see how a v»"orld 
in arms was held at bay by a people and a soldiery whom he 
held together with an iron will and hurled like a flaming 
thunderbolt at their foes. 



WAS DAVIS A TBAITORf 297 

"In his cabinet he gathered the foremost civilians of the 
land — Toombs, Hunter, Benjamin, Watts, Davis, Memminger, 
Trenholm, Walker, Randolph, Seddon, Breckinridge, Mallory, 
Reagan. Good men and true. 

" To the leadership of his soldiers whom did he delegate? 
If some Messonier could throw upon the canvas Jefferson Davis 
in the midst of those chiefs whom he created, what grander 
knighthood could history assemble? Robert E. Lee, Albert 
Sidney Johnston, Joseph E. Johnston, G. T. Beauregard, Sam- 
uel Cooper and Braxton Bragg were generals of the full rank. 
Stonewall Jackson, Forrest, "Polk, Hardee, Ewell, D.H.Hill, 
A. P. Hill, Hood, Richard Taylor, Holmes, R. H. Anderson, 
Pemberton, Early, Kirby Smith, Longstreet, Hampton, S. D. 
Lee, A. P. Stewart, Buckner, Wheeler and Gordon were their 
lieutenants. Major-generals, brigadiers and field officers — 
cavalry leaders, artillerists and infantry commanders — who 
became world-renowned throng upon the memory ; the names 
of Stuart, Morgan, Ashby, Cleburne and their compeers spring 
from the full heart to the lip. Would that time permitted me 
to call that brilliant roll of the living and the dead; but Avhy 
need the voice pronounce what all would speak ? 

" Men judge Napoleon by his marshals ; judge Jefferson 
Davis and his cause by his chosen chieftains, and the plea of 
words seems weak indeed by the side of men and deeds. 

" Troop behind them those armies of ' tattered uniforms and 
bright muskets ' ; but no, it is beyond the reach of either brush 
or chisel to redeem to the imagination such men, such scenes, 
as shine in their twenty-two hundred combats and battles. 
Not until some new-born Homer shall touch the harp can man- 
kind be penetrated by a sense of their heroic deeds, and then 
alone in the grand majestic minstrelsy of epic song. 

" And now that Avar is flagrant, far and wide, on land and 
sea and river, over the mountain and the plain rolls the red 
battle-tide, and rises the lofty cheer. The son falls, the old 
father steps in his place. The father falls, the stripling of the 
play-ground rushes to the front; the boy becomes a man. 
Lead fails ; old battle-fields are raked over, children gather up 
bullets as they would pluck berries, household ornaments and 
utensils are broken, and all are moulded into missiles of war. 
Cannon fail ; the very church bells whose mellow chimes have 
summoned to the altar, are melted and now resound with the 
grim detonations of artillery. Clothes fail ; old garments are 
turned over, rags and exercise are raiment. The battle-horse is 
killed, the ship goes down ; the unhorsed trooper and the un- 
shipped tar trudge along with the infantry. The border States 



298 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

are swept away from the Confederacy, the remaining ones gird 
their loins the tighter. Virginia is divided ; there is enough of 
her left for her heroic heart to beat in. New Orleans is gone ; 
Vicksburg falls ; Gettysburg is lost ; armies wither ; exiles make 
their homes in battle ; slender battalions do the duty of divis- 
ions. Generals die in the thick fight ; captains become gene- 
rals ; a i^rivate is a company. Luxuries disappear ; necessities 
become luxuries. Fields are wasted, crops and barns are 
burned, flocks and herds are consumed, and naught is left but 
' man and steel — tne soldier and his sword. ' 

"The desolate winter lays white and bleak upon the land; 
its chill winds are resisted by warm and true affections. 

" Atlanta, Mobile, Charleston, Savannah falls — the Confede- 
racy is cut to pieces. Its fragments become countries, with 
frontiers on skirmish -lines and capitals on horseback. 

" Ports are sealed — the world and the South are parted. All 
the dearer seems the scant sky that hangs over her bleeding 
children. 

" On and on and on come the thickening masses of the 
North — brave men, bravely led and ably commanded ; and 
as those of the South grow thinner, theirs grow stronger. Hope 
sinks ; despair stiffens courage. 

"Everything fails but manhood and womanhood. The woman 
cooks and weaves and works, nurses the stricken, and buries 
her dead, and cheers her living. The man stands to his gun 
behind Johnston, behind Lee. Petersburg and Richmond 
starve and bleed and yet stand dauntless. And here amongst 
5^ou — while the thunders shake the capitol and the window- 
panes of his home and the earth trembles — here stands Jeffer- 
son Davis, unshaken, untrembling, toiling to give bread to his 
armies and their kindred, toiling to hold up the failing arms of 
his veterans, unbelieving that heaven could decree the fall of 
such a people. 

" At last the very fountains of nature fail. The exhausted 
South falls prone upon its shield. 

" It is gone. All gone. Forever gone. The Confederacy and 
its sons in gray have vanished; and now at last hoary with 
years the chieftain rests, his body mingling with the ashes of 
the brave which once quickened with a country's holy passion. 

"Hither let that body be borne by the old soldiers of the 
Confederacy. Here in Richmond by the James, where was his 
war home ; where his child is buried; where his armies were 
marshalled; where the Congress sat; where was the capital, 
the arsenal, the citadel, the field of glory, and at last the tomb of 
the Confederacy — here let him be buried, and the land of Wash- 



WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 299 

ington and Lee and Stonewall Jackson will hold in ssicred trust 
his memory and his ashes. 

" The restless tides of humanity will rush hither and thithe-r 
over the land of battles. The ages will sweep on, and 

' Rift the hills, roll the waters, flash the lightnings, weigh the sun.' 

" The white sails of commerce will thicken on your river and 
the smoke of increasing factories will blacken the skies. 
Mountains will pour forth their precious metals, and fields will 
glow in the garniture of richer harvests. The remnants of 
lives spared from the battle will be interwoven with the texture 
of the Union ; new stars will cluster upon the flag, and the 
sons of the South will bear it as their fathers bore it to make 
the bounds of freedom .wider 3'et. Our great race will meet 
and solve every problem, however dark, that it now faces, 
and a people reconciled and mighty will stretch forth their 
arms to stay those of the oppressor. But no greater souls will 
rise than those who find rest under the Southern sod, from 
Sumter's battered wall to the trailing vines and ivy leaves of 
Hollywood, and none will come forth of truer heart or cleaner 
hancls or higher crest to lead them. 

" To the dust we give his body now ; the ages receive 
his memory. They have never failed to do justice, however 
tardy, to him who stood by his people and made their cause 
his own. 

"The world does not to-day think the less of Warren because 
he fell at Bunker Hill, a red-handed colonial rebel, fighting the 
old flag of his sojt^ereign even before his people became seces- 
sionists from the crown, nor because his yeomen were beaten 
in the battle. 

" The great character and work of John Hampden wear no 
stigma, though he rode out of the battle at dial grove stricken 
to death by a loyal bullet and soon filled a rebel's grave. 

" Oliver Cromwell is a proud name in English history, though 
the English republic which he founded was almost as short- 
lived as the Confederacy and was soon buried under the re- 
established throne of the Stuarts. 

" And we but forecast the judgment of the years to come 
when we pronounce that JefTerson Davis was great and pure as 
statesman, man, and patriot. 

" In the eyes of Him to whom a thousand years are as a 
watch in the night, the w^ar and the century in Avhich it came 
are but as a single heart-throb in the breast of time, and when 
the myriads of this great land shall look back through unclouded 
skies to the old heroic days the smoke and stain of the battle/ 



300 THE DAVIS ME3rORIAL VOLUME. 

will have yanished from the hero's name. The tall chieftain 
of the men who wore the gray will stand before them ' with a 
countenance like the lightning and in raiment as white as 
snow.' " 

But after all that could be said upon this question, only a 
single statement answers it. When the United States govern- 
ment had Mr. Davis' in its power, and the Northern people 
were clamoring for his trial and conviction for treason, they 
kept him in prison for two years; and after consulting their 
ablest lawyers, and, as it is understood, at the advice of their 
Chief-Justice Chase, did not dare to go into trial because they 
knew that he had committed no treason and done no wrong, 
and they were not willing to give him the opportunity, for 
which he begged, of vindicating himself and his people at the 
bar of history. They confessed judgment by refusing to try 
him, and it is too late now to attempt to brand him and his 
people with the foul stigma of treason. 



XIV- 

BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 

After leaving the Senate Mr, Davis returned to Mississippi, 
and promptly accepted the position tendered him as Major- 
General and Commander-in-Chief of the volunteer forces of the 
State. 

He longed for peace and was in favor of making every rea- 
sonable sacrifice to attain it ; but he feared the worst, and 
favored making the most active preparations to meet the war 
which he believed the Republicans of the North would force 
upon the South. 

AVhile actively engaged in organizing the forces of his State, 
and preparing for' whatever emergency might come, the dele- 
gates of the " Provisional Congress" assembled at Montgomery, 
Ala., and among their first acts unanimously elected as Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi. 

So far from its being true, as has been falsely alleged, that 
this was the object of Mr. Davis's ambition — that he conspired 
to break up the Union in order to be President of a Southern 
Confederacy — the proof is conclusive that he neither sought 
nor desired this position. He had expressed himself in the 
strongest terms to his friends as preferring to serve in the 
army, and had his wishes been consulted another would have 
been chosen to this position of high honor and great responsi- 
bility. 

But when it was made known to him that the united voice 
of all the States of the Confederacy looked to him as the leader 

[301] 



302 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, 

and guide of the new " Republic of Republics," he sacrificed his 
own preferences, went promptly to Montgomery, and was inau- 
gurated on the 18th of February, 1861. 

The ceremony of the inauguration was very simple, consist- 
ing in the taking of the oath of office and the inaugural 
address of President Davis, but an immense crowd of enthusi- 
astic Confederates heard the address and cheered it to the echo. 

As a clear, able, and eloquent statement of the views of Mr. 
Davis, and as a defense of the Confederate cause, this address 
is worthy of the most careful study, and is given in full as 
follows : 

INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT DAVIS, DELIVERED AT THE 
CAPITOL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1861. 

Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 
Friends and Felloiv- Citizens: 

" Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Ex- 
ecutive of the Provisional Government which you have insti- 
tuted, I approach the discharge of the duties assigned to me 
with an humble distrust of my abilities, but with a sustaining 
confidence in the wisdom of those who are to guide and aid 
me ill the administration of public affairs, and an abiding faith 
in the virtue and patriotism of the people. 

"Looking forward to the speedy establishment of a perma- 
nent government to take the place ' of this, and which, by its 
greater moral and physical power, will be better able to com- 
bat with the many difficulties which arise from the conflicting 
interests of separate nations, I enter upon the duties of the 
office, to which I have been chosen, with the hope that the 
beginning of our career, as a Confederacy, may not be obstructed 
by hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the separate exis- 
tence and independence which we have asserted, and, with the 
blessing of Providence, intend to maintain. Our present con- 
dition, achieved in a manner unprecedented in the history of 
nations, illustrates the American idea that governments rest 
upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of 
the people to alter or abolish governments whenever they 
become destructive of the ends for which they were established. 




INAUGURATION OF MR. DAVIS AS PRESIDENT AT MONTGOMERY, ALA. 



l\ 



^- 4 



T- ^ 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 303 

"The declared purpose of the compact of union from which 
we have withdrawn, was ' to estabb'sh justice, insure domestic 
tramquility, provide for the common defense, promote the gen- 
eral welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and posterity;' and when in the judgment of the sovereign 
States now composing this Confederacy, it had been perverted 
from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had ceased 
to answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful 
appeal to the ballot-box, declared tliat so far as they w^ere con- 
cerned, the government created by that compact should cease 
to exist. In this they merely asserted a right which the Dec- 
laration of Independence of 1776 had defined to be inaliena- 
ble. Of the time and occasion for its exercise, they as sover- 
eigns, were the final judges, each for itself. The impartial and 
enlightened verdict of mankind will vindicate the rectitude of 
our conduct, and He, who knows the hearts of men, will judge 
of the sincerity with which we labored to preserve the govern- 
ment of our fathers in its spirit. The right solemnly pro- 
claimed at the birth of the States and which has been affirmed 
and re-affirmed in the bills of rights of States subsequently 
admitted into the Union of 1789, undeniably recognizes in the 
people the power to resume the authority delegated for the 
purposes of government. Thus the sovereign States, here 
represented, proceeded to form this Confederacy, and it is by 
abuse of language that their act has been denominated a rev- 
olution. They formed a new alliance, but within each State 
its government has remained, and the rights of person and 
property have not been disturbed. The agent, through whom 
they communicated with foreign nations, is changed; but this 
does not necessarily interrupt their international relations. 

" Sustained by the consciousness that the transition from the 
former Union to the present Confederacy has not proceeded 
from a disregard on our part of just obligations, or any failure 
to perform any constitutional duty; moved by no interest or 
passion to invade the rights of others ; anxious to cultivate 
peace and commerce with all nations, if we may not hope to 
avoid war, we may at least expect that posterity w^ ill acquit us 
of having needlessly engaged in it. Doubly justified by the 
absence of Avrong on our part, and by wanton aggression on 
the part of others, there can be no cause to doubt that the 
courage and patriotism of the people of the Confederate States 



304 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME, 

will be found equal to any measures of defense which honor 
and security may require. 

" An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export 
of a commodity required in every manufacturing country, our 
true policy is peace and the freest trade which our necessities 
will permit. It is alike our interest, and that of all those to 
whom we would sell and from whom we would buy, that there 
should be the fewest practicable restrictions upon the inter- 
change of commodities. There can be but little rivalry 
between ours and any manufacturing or navigating commu- 
nity, such as the northeastern States of the American Union. 
It must follow, therefore, that a mutual interest would invite 
good will and kind offices. If, however, passion or the lust of 
dominion should cloud the judgment or inflame the ambition 
of those States, we must prepare to meet the emergency, and to 
maintain, by the final arbitrament of the sword, the position 
which we have assumed among the nations of the earth. We 
have entered upon the career of independence, and it must be 
inflexibly pursued. Through many years of controver;iy with 
our late associates, the Northern States, we have vainly 
endeavored to secure tranquility, and to obtain respect for the 
rights to which we are entitled. As a necessity, not a choice, 
we have resorted to the remedy of separation; and henceforth 
our energies must be directed to the conduct of our own affairs, 
and the perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have formed. 
If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peace- 
ably to pursue our separate political career, my most earnest 
desire will have been fulfilled; but if tliis be denied to us, and 
the integrity of our territory and jurisdiction be assailed, it 
will but remain for us, with firm resolve, to appeal to arms and 
invoke the blessings of Providence on a just cause. 

" As a consequence of our new condition, and with a view 
to meet anticipated wants, it will be necessary to provide for 
the speedy and efficient organization of branches of the Execu- 
tive Department, having special charge of foreign intercourse, 
finance, military affairs, and the postal service. 

" For purposes of defense, the Confederate States may, under 
ordinary circumstances, rely mainly upon the militia ; but it is 
deemed advisable, in the present condition of affairs, that 
there should be a well-instructed and disciplined army, more 
numerous than would usually be required on a peace estab- 



JBUGINiriNG OF THE WAR. 805 

lishment. I also suggest that, for the protection of our har- 
bors and commerce on the high seas, a navy adapted to those 
objects will be required. Theso necessities have doubtless 
engaged the attention of Congress. 

"With a constitution differing only from that of our fathers, 
in so far as it is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed 
from the sectional conflicts which have interfered with the pur- 
suit of the general welfare, it is not unreasonable to expect 
that States from which we have recently parted, may seek to 
unite their fortunes with ours under the government which we 
have instituted. For this your constitution makes adequate 
provision ; but beyond this, if I mistake not, the judgment and 
will of the people, a re-union with the States from which we 
have separated is neither practicable nor desirable. To increase 
the power, develop the resources, and promote the happiness 
of the Confederacy, it is requisite that there shoukl be somucli 
homogeneity that the welfare of every portion shall be the aim 
of the whole. Where this does not exist, antagonisms are 
engendered which must and should result in separation. 

-' Actuated solely by the desire to preserve our own rights 
and promote our own welfare, the separation of the Confeder- 
ate States has been marked by no aggression upon others, and 
followed by no domestic convulsion. Our industrial pursuits 
have received no check ; the cultivation of our fields has pro- 
gressed as heretofore; and even should we be involved in war, 
there woukl be no considerable diminution in the production 
of the staples which have constituted our exports, and in wliich 
the commercial world has an interest scarcely less than our 
own. This common interest of the producer and consumer 
can only be interrupted by an exterior force, which should 
obstruct its transmission to foreign markets — a course of con- 
duct which would be as unjust towards us as it would be det- 
rimental to manufacturing and commercial interests abroad. 
Should reason guide the action of the government from which 
we have separated, a policy so detrimental to the civilized 
world, the Northern States included, could not be dictated by 
even the strongest desire to inflict injury upon us ; but if other- 
wise, a terrible responsibility will rest upon it, and the suffer- 
ing of millions will bear testimony to the folly and wickedness 
of our aggressors. In the meantime, there will remain to us, 
besides the ordinary means before suggested, the well-knowa 
resources for retaliation upon the commerce of the enemy. 



306 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

"Experience in public stations, of subordinate grades to 
this wliich your kindness has conferred, has taught me that 
care, and toil, and disappointment, are the price of official ele- 
vation. You will see many errors to forgive, many deficiencies 
to tolerate, but you shall not find in me either a want of zeal 
or fidelity to the cause that is to me highest in hope and of 
most enduring affection. Your generosity has bestowed upon 
me an undeserved distinction — one which I neither sought 
nor desired. Upon the continuance of that sentiment, and 
upon your wisdom and patriotism, I rely to direct and support 
me in the performance of the duty required at my hands, 

" We have changed the constituent parts but not the system 
of our government. The constitution formed by our fathers 
is that of these Confederate States, in their exposition of it; 
and, la the judicial construction it has received, we have a 
light which reveals its true meaning. 

" Thus instructed as to the just interpretation of the instru- 
ment, and ever remembering that all offices are but trusts held 
for the people, and that delegated powers are to be strictly con- 
strued, I will hope by due diligence in the performance of my 
duties, though I may disappoint your expectations, yet to retain, 
when retiring, something of the good will and confidence 
which welcomed my entrance into office. 

" It is joyous, in the midst of perilous times, to look around 
•upon a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve 
animates and actuates the whole — where the sacrifices to be 
made are not weighed in the balance against honor, and right, 
and liberty, and equality. Obstacles may retard — they cannot 
long prevent — the progress of a movement sanctified by its 
justice, and sustained by a virtuous people. Reverently let us 
invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us in our 
efforts to perpetuate the principles which, by his blessing, they 
w^ere able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity, 
and with a continuance of his favor, ever gratefully acknowl- 
edged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and 
to prosperity." 

Hon. A. H. Stephens, of Georgia, had been elected Vice- 
President of the Confederacy, and the following were selected as 
members of, the Cabinet: Hon. Robert Toombs, of Georgia, 
Secretary of State; Hon. L. P. Walker, of Alabama, Secretary 



BEGINXIXG OF THE WAB. 307 

of "War; Hon. C. C. Memminger, of South Carolina, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Hon. S. R. Mallory, of Florida, Secretary of 
the Navy; Hon. J. H. Reagan, of Texas, Postmaster-General ; 
Hon. J. P. Benjamin, of Louisiana, Attornej^-General. 

The very first action of the Confederate government was to 
declare their wish to settle all differences with the United 
States government and to "adjust everything pertaining to the 
common property, common liabilities, and common obligations 
of that union upon principles of right, justice, equity, and 
good faith." 

To this end Hon. A. B. Roman, of Louisiana; Hon. Martin 
J. Crawford, of Georgia, and Hon. John Fors3'th, of Alabama, 
were appointed on the 25th of February commissioners to pro- 
ceed to Washington, and seek a peaceful and satisfactory 
adjustment of all matters between the two governments. 

Meantime Virginia had led in the call for the famous "Peace 
Conference," and conservative men of every section were labor- 
ing for peace. But all in vain. Hon. Zack Chandler, of Mich- 
igan, voiced the sentiments of the ultra men who now had 
control of the government, when he said "without a little blood 
letting this Union will not, in my estimation, be worth a rush;'" 
the new President was bent on his purpose "to hold, occupy, 
and possess the property and places belonging to the govern- 
ment, and collect the duties and imposts ;" and while there 
were at the North some very strong and notable protests against 
any attempt to coerce the sovereign States of the South, yet 
events rapidly tended in that direction, and the efforts of the 
Confederate government at a peaceful solution of the difficul- 
ties met a sad and signal failure. 

We have not space here for the details, but the correspond- 
ence of the Confederate commissioners with the authorities at 
Washington, and the statements of Judge John A. Campbell, 
of the Supreme Court, who acted as an intermediary between 
them and Secretary of State W. H. Seward, show that they 



308 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

acted with rare discretion and always in the interests of peace, 
while Mr. Seward was guilty of a duplicity and bad faith, 
which would have been a disgrace to a semi-civilized or bar- 
barous nation, and is a foul blot on the escutcheon of the 
United States. 

The Secretary promised distinctly and repeatedly that Sum- 
ter should be evacuated, and wrote, " Faith as to Sumter fully 
Jcept. Wait and see," at the very time that an armed expedi- 
tion was on its way to provision and reinforce the garrison. 
South Carolina had ceded the site on which Sumter had been 
built to the general government, for the j^rotedion of the harbor 
of Charleston, and now that the fort was to be used not for its 
original purpose, but for the destruction of her beautiful city, 
the State had the clear right to demand it back, and the Confed- 
erate authorities acted with rare patience and forbearance 
when they waited so long in the vain hope of getting peace- 
able possession of their own. 

But when they received information that this powerful 
armament was about to enter the harbor to reinforce Sumter, 
and make it impregnable to their assaults, in opening fire 
upon the fort they acted as strictly in self-defence as the man who 
uses whatever force may be necessary to disarm an assassin about to 
strike him witJ tout waiting for the fatal blow. 

All, therefore, that has been written or spoken about the 
South " firing the first gun " is the veriest nonsense and bosh. 

I overheard a very lively discussion at Winchester, Va., 
when " old Stonewall " captured it in May, 1862, from " Quar- 
termaster Banks," between a Federal colonel, who was a pri- 
soner, and a private soldier in the Thirteenth Virginia regiment. 

After the discussion had j)rogressed for some time the colonel, 
with a considerable air of confidence, said to "Johnny": 

" I will settle the discussion, sir, by asking you just one 
question. Who fired the first gun in this war? " 

As quick as a flash the Confederate replied : 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 309 

" John Brown at Harper's Ferry, sir. He fired the first gun. 
And Mr. Lincoln, in attempting to reinforce Suinter, fired the sec- 
ond gun. And the Confederates have acted on the defensive all of 
the time. We did not invade your country, but you invaded ours; 
you go home and attend to your own business and leave us to attend 
to ours, and the war ivill close at once." 

Did not this humble private soldier in his reply to the Fed- 
eral colonel give the philosophy of the whole question ? And 
does the world's history afford a clearer example of a brave 
people standing on the defensive and resisting the invasion of 
their rights and of their territory' than that of the people of 
the South? 

But the government at Washington accomplished its pur- 
pose in inducing the Confederates to capture Sumter, raised the 
cry that " the flag had been insulted," " fired the Northern 
heart" by utterly misrepresenting the facts, and deliberately 
inaugurated war to force the seceded States back into the 
Union. Mr. Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for sev- 
enty-five thousand men to coerce the seceded States, and called 
upon Virginia and other border States to furnish their quota, 
and he thus inaugurated the most iniquitous war of modern 
times ; while from that day every effort has been made to cast 
the odium of it on Mr. Davis and the Confederates. 

Looking back at it from the results and in the calm light of 
twenty-nine years after the event, it is very easy to say that 
the South ought not to have seceded and brought upon herself 
the "overwhelming numbers and resources" against which she 
fought, and yet it is quite certain that General Lee voiced the 
real sentiment of the true people of the South when, several 
years after the war, he said to General Wade Hampton : " We 
could have pursued no other course without dishonor. And 
sad as the result has been, if it had all to be done over again, 
we should be compelled to act in precisely in the same man- 
ner." 



310 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME 

But the odds against us were fearful as a very brief state- 
ment will dearly show: 

General Lee (in a circular letter which, after the war, he 
addressed to his leading officers asking their help in the pre- 
paration of his proposed history of his campaign) said : " It 
will be difficult to get the world to appreciate the odds against 
which we fought,'"' and this has been fully realized. Even our 
Confederate writers are often misled into gross exaggerations of 
our numbers, and it is a rare thing to find a Northern writer who 
does not follow the estimates made during the war, and greatly 
overstate Confederate numbers and resources But the official 
reports, the " field returns," etc., are now accessible 

The census of 1860 shows that the fourteen States from 
which the Confederacy drew any part of its forces had a white 
population of only 7,946,111, of which 2,498,891 belonged to 
Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, which three States actu- 
ally furnished (because of the force of circumstances they could 
not control) more men to the Federal than to the Confederate 
armies ; so that the total population upon which the Confede- 
racy could draw was only 5,447,220, while the Federal govern- 
ment had (exclusive of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri) a 
population of 19,011,360. Add to this the patent facts that 
we soon lost large portions of our territory — that the Federal 
armies were largely recruited from our negro population — and 
that, by means of large bounties and other inducements, they 
drew from the dense populations of Europe a very large pro- 
portion of their levies, and it will be seen that the odds in num 
bers against the Confederacy must have been enormous. The 
statement that has sometimes been made that the 4,000,000 of 
negroes in the South "were the same as soldiers, because they 
did the work in the fields which white men would have had 
to do," is sufficiently refuted by sa3nng that from the first the 
negroes were enticed into the Federal lines — that they were 
enlisted by thousands in the Federal armies and employed in 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 311 

other capacities which relieved white soldiers — and that it was^ 
very common for the young negro men to run off leaving 
only the old men, the women, and the children, as a burden 
on the plantation, and a heavy t'^x on the planter. 

Secretary Stanton (page 31 of his final report) states that 
there were actually mustered into the service of the United 
States from the 15th of April, 1861, to the 14th of April, 1865, 
2,656,553 men. In 1881 the adjutant-general's office pub- 
lished a tabulated statement of the men furnished by each 
State to the United States armies, from which it appears that 
there were actually mustered into the service of the United 
States during the war 2,859,132 men, 

Mr. William Swinton, after a careful investigation of the 
Confederate records, states that 600,000 men were put into the 
Confederate armies during the entire war. In a correspond- 
ence between Dr. Joseph Jones, of New Orleans (first secretary 
of the Southern Historical Society), and General S. Cooper, 
tlie accomplished Adjutant-General of the Confederacy (see 
Southern Historical papers, vol. VII., page 287), it is clearly 
shown that the entire number of men mustered into the Con- 
federate service did not exceed 600,000 — that not more than 
400,000 were enrolled at any one time — that the Confederates 
never had in the field more than 200,000 men capable of 
bearing arms at any one time, i. e., exclusive of sick, wounded, 
and disabled — that one-third of the entire number, or 200,000, 
were either killed upon the field or died of wounds or disease — 
that another third of the entire number were captured — and 
that in April, 1865, the available force of the Confederates 
numbered scarcely 100,000 men, to whom there were opposed 
over 1,000,000 Federal soldiers. 

Add to this great disparity of numbers the well-known 
facts that the South was an agricultural and not a manufac- 
turing people — that our ports were blockaded and we were 
shut in from the markets of the world — that we were all of 



312 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

the time deficient in clothes, equipments, arms, ammunition, 
transportation, rations, everything necessary to the efficiency of 
armies save the skill of our generals and the brave hearts of 
our men — and it will be conceded that General Lee did not 
put it too strongly when he said in his farewell address that 
we were " compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and re- 
sources.^' 

But although Mr. Davis had done everything in his power 
to avert war he bravely met the issue when forced upon him, 
and, despite scant numbers and resources, for four years he 
maintained the contest with an ability, skill, and heroism 
which astonished the world, which deserved success, and which 
would unquestionably have won it, but for causes beyond his 
control. 

As soon as Virginia passed her ordinance of secession (April 
17, 1861), and cast in her lot with her Southern sisters, ]\Ir. 
Davis proposed the removal of the Confederate capital to 
Richmond, and this was promptly agreed upon. 

Mr. Davis himself arrived in Richmond the last of May, his 
journey hither being a series of ovations at every city, town 
and village along the route, and was received with the most 
enthusiastic demonstrations by the people. 

His headquarters were first at the Spotswood hotel, and 
then in " the White House of the Confederacy," which the city 
of Richmond purchased as a gift to the President, but which 
he persistently declined to receive, and only consented to occupy 
on condition that full rent should be paid for it. 

A detailed sketch of the life of Mr. Davis in Richmond, and 
his administration of the affairs of the Confederate govern- 
ment — his joy at a long line of victories which illumine brightest 
pages of the world's history, and his calm, dignified bearing 
amid disasters and final failure — would make a volume many 
times larger than this, and cannot, of course, be given here. 



Ill ,11 II 'jlli 





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KEOEPTION AT THE PRESIDENTIAL MANSION, SHOWING MEMBERS OF MR. DAVIS' 
STAFF AND MR. AND MRS. DAVIS. 



BEOINKING OF TUB WAR. 813 

We can only give a few illustrations of the salient points of 
his life in Richmond, and his conduct of the war. 

The Ilichmond Dispatch thus relates some of the incidents of 
his life in Richmond : 

" Mr. Davis came to Richmond from Montgomery, Ala., upon 
the removal of the capital here, and reached this city May the 
29th, 1861. 

" AVar was just then beginning in earnest. The enthusiasm 
of our people ran high. The uniforms of our soldiers were as 
yet unstained by the mud of the trenches. The gold braid on 
the officers' coats was untarnished. Sugar, coffee, tea, dry 
goods, and medicines were to be had at slightly advanced 
prices. South Carolina troops were encamped at the old fair 
grounds (Monroe Park), and the ladies of the city lavished 
upon them their best attentions. Virginia troops were ren- 
dezvousing at the new fair grounds (Exposition grounds), and 
Jackson Park (between the old reservoir and Harvietown) was 
being filled with Southern regiments. All were getting ready 
to go to the field of Manassas. Many regiments were already 
there, while another army was under Magruder on the Penin- 
sula. 

" Mr. Davis was received liere with distinguished honors, 
and quarters were assigned him at the Spotswood hotel, which 
then stood at the southeast corner of Main and Eighth streets, 
but was destroyed by fire December 25, 1870. 

'* Here speeches were made, welcome after welcome extended, 
and crowds pressed forward to be introduced to Mv. Davis and 
members of his family. 

"Mrs. Davis was thus described: 

" 'She is a tall, commanding figure, with dark hair, eyes and 
complexion, and strongly marked characteristics, which lie 
chiefly in the mouth. With firmly-set yet flexible lips there 
is indicated much energy of purpose and will, but beautifully 
softened by the usually sad expression of her dark, earnest 
eyes. Her manners are kind, graceful, easy, and affable, and 
her receptions are characterized by the dignity and suavity 
Mdiich should very properly distinguish tlie drawing-room 
entertainments of the Chief Magistrate of a republic' 

" Proud of becoming tlie capital of the Confederacy, desirous 
to do honor to President Davis, and anxious to give him, the 



314 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

heartiest possible welcome here, the city council purchased and 
furnished what was ever afterwards known as 'the Jeff". Davis 
mansion,' and offered it to him as a free gift. 

"He declined it, 

" He would not accept any present of value ; but he agreed 
to make the house his home upon condition that the city 
sliould receive from the government, whose duty it was to 
furnish him a home, rent therefor. He occupied the house in 
tlie early summer of 1861, and bade farewell to it April 
2, 1865. 

" From the windows of this house there was a view north- 
ward into the county of Henrico. It is a high hill, at the 
foot of which runs Shockoe creek. Before the President was a 
prospect of small farms and orchards; of humble suburban 
houses set in the midst of trees, and four miles off he caught 
a glimpse of the tall green trees growing in the swamps of the 
Chickahominy. 

" His outlook was to tlie front — not toward the James. The 
river was back of him, and at the battles around Richmond 
in June, 1862, had he been at home instead of in the saddle 
with his generals (as he often was) he could have seen the flash 
of our artillery at Mechanicsville and at EUerson's mill. From 
the windows of the house looking east he could see the James 
meandering towards Drewry's Bluff and Dutch Gap. 

"The house was built in 1817 and 1818 by Dr. John Brock- 
enbrough, from whom it passed to Mr. James ]M. Morson, and 
thence to Hon. James A. Seddon, and thence to Mr. Lewis D. 
Crenshaw. 

" Mr. Crenshaw sold it, and most of the furniture which it 
contained, to the city for $40,000. 

" From, the front porch the entrance door opened into the 
principal hall (14x18 feet), elliptical in form with two niches, 
each containing a bronze statue utilized, if not designed, for 
gas purposes. Tlie front of the building to the right of the 
hall was divided into a staircase hall, with two niches contain- 
ing marble statuettes, and a cosy library (11-3x14 feet), and 
to the left was a private stairway, and the entry affording 
ingress to the dining-room and egress from the building. The 
elegant apartments for entertaining were in rear and en suite, 
the parlor (18x24 feet) being located between the withdrawing- 
room (about 22 feet square) and the dining-room about (22x 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 315 

29 feet). Each of these rooms was lighted by a large side- 
light window extending to the floor and affording access to a 
noble piazza (12x67 feet) facing the south. The dining-room 
had two additional windows on the east side, both opening 
upon a terrace. 

"It was from the window of this building that President 
Davis's little son Joe fell and lost his life. 

" As you entered the house from Clay street on the right 
was a small ante-room to the beautiful parlors where all State 
receptions were held during the war. On the opposite side of 
the hall or passage was the library and dining-room. Upstairs 
were the chambers and private office of Mr. Davis. In the 
basement was the pantry and store-rooms of various sorts." 

This house was occupied as Federal headquarters on the cap- 
ture of Richmond, and has for some years been used as one of 
the public school buildings of the city ; but there are plans 
on foot to convert it into a Confederate museum and library, 
and it is hoped that this w^ill be done. 

" The President's office was on the third floor of the Treas- 
ury building (custom-house) and at the head of the steps as you 
entered from Bank street. 

" Within two years past the custom-house building has been 
remodelled and enlarged and a new front has been put on 
Bank street, but the rooms which he occupied have been left 
intact and are reached almost exactly as they were twenty-five 
years ago. 

" The room of the private secretary of the President, Burton 
N. Harrison, was that which subsequently became the office of 
the United States Marshal. 

" The room across the passage, long occupied as the office 
of the clerk of the United States District Court, was the room 
used by President Davis. 

" The aids to the President (in 1863) w^re : Colonel William 
M. Browne, residence on Franklin street, Church Hill, second 
door from Twenty-sixth street; Colonel James Chestnut, of 
South Carolina; Colonel William Preston Johnston, of Ken- 
tucky, residence at Mr. Dill's on the Meadow-Bridge road; 
Colonel Joseph C. Ives, of Mississippi, residence corner Grace 
and First streets ; Colonel G. W. Custis Lee, of Virginia, resi- 



316 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

dence Franklin between Seventh and Eighth street; Colonel 
John T. Wood, residence Sixth street south of Main, in rear of 
Second Baptist church. President's Private Secretary, Burton 
N. Harrison, of Mississippi, residence at the President's house. 
Messenger, Master William Davies (now proprietor of a photo- 
graph gallery here). 

" Unless detained by pressing business Mr. Davis usually 
left his office at about 5 o'clock. Sometimes Mrs. Davis would 
come for him in her carriage, but oftener, he would walk, and 
about sundown would be seen on his horse (he was a beautiful 
rider) galloping along some street leading to the country. 

" On one of these rides when he was passing through the 
eastern section of the city in the neighborhood of Gillie's creek 
and Williamsburg avenue he was fired upon and narrowly 
escaped death from the bullet of an assassin hidden in one of 
the small houses in that vicinity. 

" The matter was kept very quiet indeed, few people in 
Richmond ever heard of it, but the arrest of a man suspected 
of the crime was made at the time. No positive evidence 
could be procured against him and he was discharged. 

"This incident has recently been the subject of a letter 
written by Mr. Davis, in which he states his positive convic- 
tion that the shot which he so narrowly escaped was not a 
chance-shot fired in his direction by accident, but one aimed 
at him by the hand of an assassin. 

" Mr. Davis left the city to be present at the battle of Ma- 
nassas and soon after that conflict at arms returned to Rich- 
mond and made a speech from a window of the Spotswood. 

" During the seven-days' battles in front of this city he was 
often on the field, but with these exceptions and one or two 
visits South, he remained in Richmond constantly during the 
war." 

He was present at the close of the battle of First Manassas 

[" Bull Run', it is called by Northern writers] on the 21st of 

July, 1861, and sent from the field the following characteristic 

dispatch : 

"Manassas Junction, Sunday Night. 

"Night has closed upon a hard-fought field. Our forces 
were victorious. The enemy were routed, and precipitately fled 
abandoning a large amount of arms, knapsacks, and baggage; 




7^ /r ^7'f^- "^as^a^ry/ \y 






M^'U 



•^ 



"THERE COMES THE PRESIDENT." 
While Stonewall JacksoiVs wound v.as being dressed Mr. Davis appeared with his 
staff, and was thus greeleri by Jaclt.sou. 



BEGINNING OF THE WAB. 317 

The ground was strewn for miles with those killed, and the 
farm-houses and ground around were filled with tlie wounded. 
Pursuit was continued along several routes towards Leesburg 
and Centreville, until darkness covered the fugitives. We have 
captured many field batteries and stands of arms, and one of 
the United States flags. Many prisoners have been taken. Too 
high praise can not be bestowed, whether for the skill of the 
principal officers, or the gallantry of all our troops. The bat- 
tle was mainly fought on our left. Our forces was 15,000; 
that of the enemy estimated at 85,000. Jeff'n Davis." 

It was afterwards charged that he stopped the pursuit of the 
enemy that night, and was responsible for the long inactivity 
which followed that great victory; but the proof is over- 
whelming that he was very anxious to have a vigorous pur- 
suit and issued an order to that effect, and that he was press- 
ing General Johnston for weeks and months after the battle to 
utilize the victory by an advance across the Potomac. 

On his return to Richmond after this battle he received a 
most enthusiastic ovation, and ]nade brief but ringing speeches 
at the depot and to an immense crowd that gathered at the 
Spotswood hotel that night. 

He " counseled moderation and forbearance in victory, with 
unrelaxed preparations" for the future struggles of the war; 
and used that famous utterance : " Never he haughty to the humble 
nor humble to the haugJity.^' 

At this period his popularity with his people knew no 
bounds. It was only after disaster came that grumblers arose 
to criticise and condemn his conduct of affairs; but he always 
had with him the hearts of ^n overwhelming majority of the 
soldiers and the people. 

In November, ISGl, he was, without opposition, elected by 
the people President of the "permanent" government of the 
Confederate States, and on the 22d of February, 1862, he was, 
inaugurated. Mr. Alfriend, who was present on the occasion, 



318 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

has so vividly described the scene that we quote his account 
in full: 

"The inaugural ceremonies were as simple and appropriate 
as those witnessed at Montgomery a year previous. The mem- 
bers of the Confederate Senate and House of Kepresentatives, 
with the members of the Virginia Legislature, awaited in the 
hall of the House of Delegates the arrival of the President. 
In consequence of the limited capacity of the hall, compara- 
tively few spectators — a majority of them ladies — witnessed 
the proceedings there. Immediately fronting the chair of tiie 
speaker M'ere the ladies of Mr. Davis's household, attended by 
relatives and friends. In close proximity were the members 
( f the cabinet. 

"A contemporary account thus mentions this scene: 'It 
was a grave and great assemblage. Time-honored men were 
there, who had witnessed ceremony after ceremony of inaugu- 
ration in the palmiest days of the old confederation; those who 
had been at the inauguration of the iron-willed Jackson; men 
who, in their fiery Southern ardor, had thrown down the gaunt- 
let of defiance in the hails of Federal legislation, and in the 
face of the enemy avowed their determination to be free; and 
finally witnessed the enthroning of a republican despot in their 
country's chair of state. All were there; and silent tears were 
seen coursing down the cheeks of gray-headed men, while the 
determined will stood out in every feature.' 

" The appearance of the President was singularly imposing, 
though there were visible traces of his profound emotion, and 
a pallor, painful to look upon, reminded the spectator of his 
recent severe indisposition. His dress was a plain citizen's 
suit of black. Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, temporary president 
of the Confederate Senate, occupied the right of the platform ; 
Mr. Bocock, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the left. 
When President Davis, accompanied by Mr. Orr, of South 
Carolina, chairman of committee of the arrangements on the part 
of the Senate, reached the hall and passed to the chair of the 
speaker, subdued applause, becoming the place and the occa- 
sion, greeted him. A short time sufficed to carry into effect 
the previously arranged programme, and the distinguished 
procession moved to the Washington monument, where a stand 
was prepared for the occasion. 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 319 

"Hon. James Lyons, of Virginia, chairman of the House 
committee of arrangements, called the assemblage to order, 
and an eloquent and appropriate prayer was offered by Bishop 
Johns, of the Diocese of Virginia. The President, having 
received a most enthusiastic welcome from the assemblage, 
with a clear and measured accent, delivered his inaugural 
address: 

^^Fellow-citizens: On this, the birthday of the man most iden- 
tified with the establishment of American independence, and 
beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic vir- 
tues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled, to usher 
into existence the permanent government of the Confederate 
States. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of 
Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our 
revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the pur- 
pose seem fitly associated. 

"It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I 
appear to take, in the presence of the people, and before high 
Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted 
station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called 
me. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifesta- 
tion of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundlj^ im- 
pressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly 
feel my own unworthiness. 

" In return for their kindness, I can only offer assurances of 
the gratitude with which it is received, and can but pledge a 
zealous devotion of every faculty to the service of those who 
have chosen me as their chief magistrate. 

" When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the 
general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the northern 
section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic 
institutions of the Southern States; when the dogmas of a sec- 
tional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional 
compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the 
States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, con- 
federated together to exercise the right and perform the duty 
of instituting a government which would better secure the 
liberties for the preservation of which that Union was estab- 
lished. 

" Whatever of hope some may have entertained that a 
returning sense of justice would remove the danger with which 



320 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

our- rights were threatened, and render it possible to pi'eserve 
the union of the constitution, must have been dispelled by 
the malignity and barbarity of the Northern States in the 
prosecution of the existing war. The confidence of the most 
hopeful among us must have been destroyed by tlie disregard 
they have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks 
of civil and religious liberty. Bastiles filled with prisoners, 
arrested without civil process, or indictment duly found ; the 
writ of habeas corpus suspended by executive mandate ; a State 
legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose 
avowed principles suggested to the Federal executive that there 
might be another added to the list of seceded States ; elections 
held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful 
citizens, and gentle women incarcerated for opinion's sake, pro- 
claimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a 
government as free, liberal, and humane as that established 
for our common use. 

" For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our 
ancient institutions, we may point to the constitution of the 
Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the 
fact that, through all the necessities of an unequal struggle, 
there has been no act, on our part, to impair personal liberty 
or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. The 
courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, 
and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely 
as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land. 

"The people of the States now confederated became convinced 
that the government of the United Slates had fallen into the 
hands of a sectional majority, who would pervert the most 
sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights M'hicli it was 
pledged to protect. They believed that to remain longer in 
the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparag- 
ing discrimination, suomission to which would be inconsistent 
with their welfare and intolerable to o. proud people. They, 
therefore, determined to sever its bonds, and establish a new 
confederacy for themselves. 

" The experiment, instituted by our revolutionary fathers, of 
a voluntary union of sovereign States, for purposes specified in 
a solemn compact, had been prevented by those who, feeling 
power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law 
but their own will. The government had ceased to answer 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 321 

the ends for which it had been ordained and established. To 
save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid 
progress, was about to place us under the despotism of num- 
bers, and to preserve, in spirit as well as in form, a s^'steni of 
government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condi- 
tion and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make 
anew association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, 
in policy, and in feeling. 

" True to our traditions of peace and love of justice, we sent 
commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and ami- 
cable settlement of all questions cfpublic debt orproperty which 
might be in dispute. But the government at Washington, 
denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen 
to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Nothing was then 
left to us but to prepare for war. 

"The first year in our history has been the most eventful in 
the annals of this continent. A new government has been 
established, and its machinery put in operation, over an area 
exceeding seven hundred thousand square miles. The great 
principles upon which we have been willing to hazard every 
thing that is dear to man have made conquests for us wdiich 
could never have been achieved by the sword. Our Confede- 
racy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, 
already united to us by hallowed memories and materialinter- 
ests, will, I believe, when able to speak with nnstifled voice, 
connect her destiny with the South. Our people have rallied, 
with unexampled unanimity, to the support of the great prin- 
ciples of constitutional government, with firm resolve to per- 
petuate by arms the rights which they could not peacefully 
secure. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in 
hostile array, and waging M'ar along a frontier of thousands of 
miles; battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, 
and, although the contest is not ended, and the tide for the 
moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubt- 
ful 

"The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under 
the immense load of debt which they liave incurred — a debt 
which, in their efforts to subjugate us, has already attained 
such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which 
must continue to oppress them for generations to come. 

" We, too, have had our trials and difficulties. That we are 
21 



322 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

to escape tliem in the future is not to be hoped. It was to h^ 
expected, when we entered upon this war, that it would expose 
our people to sacrifices, and cost them much both of money 
and blood. But we knew the value of the object for which 
Ave struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which 
we were engaged. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and 
any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a 
contest. 

"But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This 
great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions 
and qualities of the human soul. It is cultivating feelings of 
patriotism, virtue and courage. Instances of self-sacrifice and 
of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are con- 
tending are rife throughout the land. Never has a people 
evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating 
men, women, and children in every part of our country. Upon 
the first call, the men fly to arms; and wives and mothers send 
their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret. 

" It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we 
were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which 
we pay for them. 

''The recollections of this great contest, with all its commoji 
traditions of glory, of sacrifices and of blood, will be the bond 
of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, pro- 
ducing unity in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and joint effort 
in war. 

" Nor have the material sacrifices of t]io past year been made 
without sonic corresponding benefits. If the acquiescence of 
foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of 
our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting 
and .an independent people. The blockade, if effectual and 
permanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the 
production of articles for export, and employ it in supplying 
commodities for domestic use. 

" It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our 
unaided exertions. We have neither asked nor received assist- 
ance from any quarter. Yet the interest involved is not 
wholly our own. The world at large is concerned in opening 
our markets to its commerce. When the independence of the 
Confederates States is recognized by the nations of the earth, 
and we arc free to follow our interests and inclinations by cul- 




MEMBERS OF THE SECOND CABINET. 
From photographs by \V. VV. Davies. 



BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 323 

tivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manu- 
facturing nations the most favorable markets which ever 
invited tlieir commerce. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provis- 
ions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. 
Nor would the constancy of these supplies be like?y to be dis- 
turbed by war. Our confederate strength will be too great to 
attempt aggression ; and never was there a people whose inter- 
ests and principles committed them so fully to a peaceful policy 
as those of the Confederate States. By the character of their 
productions, they are too deeply interested in foreign com- 
merce wantonly to disturb it. War of conquest they cannot 
wage, because the constitution of their Confederacy admits of 
no coerced association. Civil war there cannot be between 
States held together by their volition only. This rule of vol- 
untary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by 
securing just and impartial government at liome, does not 
diminish the security of the obligations by which the Confed- 
erate States may be bound to foreign nations. In proof of 
this, it is remembered that, at the first moment of asserting 
their right of secession, these States proposed a settlement on 
the basis of a common liability for the obligations of the gen- 
eral government. 

"Fellow-citizens, after the struggles of ages had consecrated 
the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative 
government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate 
that birthright by an appeal to arms. Success crowned their 
efforts, and they provided for their posterity a peaceful remedy 
against future aggression. 

"The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious 
and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both 
the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew 
such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of consti- 
tutional libertv. At the darkest hour of our strufrs^e, the 
provisional gives place to the permanent government. After a 
series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with 
glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. But, in 
the heart of a people resolved to be free, these disasters tend 
but to stimulate to increased resistance. 

"To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed 
to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that 
heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible 
in which their patriotism was refined. 



324 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

"With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those wlio 
will share with me tlie responsibility and aid me in the con- 
duct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and 
courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished 
so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsi- 
bilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; 
and, fully realizing the inadequacy of human power to guide 
and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him, Avhose 
favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. With 
humble gratitude and adoration, acknowledging the Provi- 
dence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during 
its brief but eventful career, to Thee, O God! I trustingly 
commit myself, and prayerfully invoke Thy blessing on my 
country and its cause." 

"The effect of this address upon the public was electrical. 
The anxious and dispirited assemblage, which, for more than 
an hour previous to the arrival of the President, had braved 
the inclement sky and traversed the almost impassable ave- 
nues of capitol square, in eager longing for reassuring words 
from him upon whose courage and will so much depended, 
was not disappointed. A consciousness of a burden removed, 
of doubts dispelled, of the reassured feeling, which comes with 
strengthened conviction that confidence has not been mis- 
placed, animated and thrilled the crowd as it caught the im- 
pressive tones and gestures of the speaker. In the memory of 
every beholder must forever dwell the imposing presence of 
Mr. Davis, as, with uplifted hands, he pronounced the beau- 
tiful and appropriate petition to Providence, which forms the 
peroration.-' 

Without going into the details we may say, in general, that 
Mr. Davis gave his personal attention to all of the departments 
of government ; that he did everything in his power to provide 
for the exigencies of the public service, and that he did every- 
thing that ability, zeal, and self-sacrificing patriotism could do 
to promote the success of the Confederate cause. 




DAVIS, LEE, AND JACKSON IN CONSOLTATION BEFORE THE 
SEVEN DAYS' BATTLE. 



X\7 
. V 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 

Our space does not permit us to tell the story of the Con- 
federate disasters of the early part of 1862, in the capture of 
Roanoke Island, New Orleans, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, &c., 
nor of how Stonewall Jackson electrified the Confederacy with 
his laconic dispatch, " God blessed our arms with victory at 
McDowell 3^esterday," and startled and alarmed the North by 
his brilliant "Valley campaign." 

Nor can we detail the story of Lee's splendid victories in 
tlie "Seven days' battles," which raised the siege of Richmond, 
forced McClellan to the protection of his gunboats, transferred 
the seat of war to Northern Virginia, where he won on the 
plains of Manassas a victory which effectually dismounted 
" Headquarters in the saddle," and enabled the Confederates 
to cross into Maryland, capture Harper's Ferry, fight the 
drawn battle of Sharpsburg, and close the campaign with the 
crushing defeat of Burnside at Fredericksburg, the 13th o:f 
December, 1862. 

Nor can we tell of how that superb soldier and stainless; 
gentleman, Albert Sidney Johnston, to whom Mr. Davis clung 
despite of disasters and severe criticism, gathered together his 
scattered forces and won at Shiloh a victory which would 
unquestionably have resulted in the destruction or capture cf 
Grant's whole army, had not our peerless leader been stricken 
down in the full tide of victory. 

Nor can we tell of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, 
Chickamauga, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court-house, 

1325J 



326 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Cold Harbor, Dalton, Atlanta, Petersburg, and hundreds of 
other hard-fought fields which illustrated American heroism, 
but in which General Grant's famous policy of " attrition " was 
finally successful, and the Confederates were starved into the 
final result of Appomattox and Greensboro. 

Nor can we tell in full how grandly our noble chief bore 
himself amid all of these changing fortunes. We can only 
give a few illustrations of his life and character during these 
eventful years. 

General Richard Taylor gave the following incident which 
illustrates President Davis's methods of making his appoint- 
ments : 

" On the eve of returning to the army I learned of my pro- 
motion to brigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to 
a brigade of Georgians. This promotion seriously embarrassad 
me. Of the four colonels whose regiments constituted the 
brigade, I was the junior in commission, and the other three 
had been present and 'won their spurs ' at the recent battle, so' 
far the only important one of the war. Besides, my known 
friendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by 
his first marriage with my elder sister, would justify the opin- 
ion that my promotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at 
headquarters I obtained leave to go to Richmond where, after 
an affectionate reception, the President listened to the story of 
my feelings, the reasons on which they were based, and the 
request that the promotion should be revoked. He replied 
that he would take a day for reflection before deciding the 
matter. The following day I was told that the answer to my 
appeal would be forwarded to the army, to which I imme- 
diately returned. The President had employed the day in 
writing a letter to the senior officers of the brigade, in which 
he began by stating that promotions to the grade of general 
officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made for con- 
siderations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He 
then out of abundant kindness to me went on to soothe the 
feelings of these officers with a tenderness and delicacy of 
touch worthy a woman's hand, and so effectually as to secure 
me their hearty support. No wonder that all who enjoy the 



THREE YEA PS OF CARNAGE. S27 

friendship of Jefferson Davis love him as Jonathan did 
David." 

Tlie Raleigh News and Observer gives the following: 

"In the early summer of 1862, he was asked to confer on 
some North Carolinian the appointment of brigadier-general. 
He was pressed to make a political appointment. It was said 
that public considerations required that an appointment of 
that character should be made. Mr. Davis was on the battle- 
field and saw the admirable conduct of Colonel Pender. He 
assented to the request to make an appointment for North Caro- 
lina; but despite the great political pressure put upon him, he 
conferred the honor on the young colonel, who thus became 
the youngest brigadier, at the time, in the service. President 
Davis made no mistake in adhering to his own judgment in 
that instance. Pender more nearly approached Jackson than 
any other of General Lee's lieutenants." 

The friendship between Mr. Davis and General Albert Sid- 
ney Johnston was very tender, but the firmness with which he 
resisted every eff'ort to have Johnston removed after the disas- 
ters at Henry and Donelson — saying, to an able and influential 
delegation who were urging a change : " If Albert Sidney 
Johnston is not a general, then the Confederacy has none to 
give you" — showed his sound judgment as well as his adhe- 
sion to the right. 

He wrote General Johnston at this time the following letter: 

"Richmond, A^a., March 12, 1862. 
"My Dear General — The departure of Captain Wickliffe offers 
an o}>portunit3', of which I avail myself to write you an 
unofficial letter. We have suffered great anxiety because of 
recent events in Kentucky and Tennessee; and I have been 
not a little disturbed by the repetitions of reflections upon 
yourself. I expected you to have made a full report of events 
precedent and consequent to the fall of Fort Donelson. In 
the meantime I 'made for j'ou such defense as friendship 
prompted and many years of acquaintance justified ; but I 
needed facts to rebut the wholesaly assertions made agninst j'ou 
to cover others and to condemn my administration. The pub- 



328 THE DA VIS MEMORIA L VOL UME. 

lie, as you are aware, have no correct measure for military 
operations; and the journals are very reckless in their state- 
ments. 

"Your force has been magnified, and the movements of an 
army have been measured by the capacity for locomotion cf 
an individual. 

" The readiness of the ]>eople among whom you are operat- 
ing to aid you in every method has been constantly asserted ; 
the purpose of your army at Bowling Green wholly misunder- 
stood; and the absence of an efi'ective force at Nashville 
ignored. You have been held responsible for the fall of 
Donelson and the capture of Nashville, It is charged that no 
effort was made to save the stores at Nashville, and that the 
panic of the people was caused by the army. 
' "Such representations, with the sad forebodings naturally 
belonging to them, have been painful to me, and injurious to 
us both ; but, worse than this, they have undermined public 
confidence^ and damaged our cause. A full d<!velopment of 
the truth is necessary for future success. 

"I respect the generosity which has kept you silent, but 
would inpress upon you that the question is not personal but 
public in its nature; that you and I might be content to 
suffer, but neither of us can willingly jiermit detriment to the 
country. As soon as circumstances will permit, it is my pur- 
pose to visit the field of your f)rescnt operations; not that I 
should expect to give you any aid in the discharge of your 
duties as a commander, but with the hope that my position 
would enable me to effect something in bringing men to your 
standard. With a sufficient force, the audacity which the 
enemy exhibits would no doubt give you the opportunity to 
cut some of his lines of communication, to break up his ])lan 
of campaign; and, defeating some of his columns, to drive 
him from the soil as well of Kentucky as of Tennessee. 

"We are deficient in arms, wanting in discipline, and 
inferior in numbers. Private arms must supply the first want ; 
time and the presence of an enemy, with diligence on the part 
of commanders, will remove the second ; and public confi- 
dence will overcome the third. General Bragg brings you dis- 
ciplined troops, and you will find in him the highest adminis- 
trative capacity. General E. K. Smith will soon have in East 
Tennessee a sufficient force to create a strong diversion in 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 329 

j^our favor ; or, if liis strength cannot be made available in 
that way, j'ou will best know how to employ it otherwise. I 
suppose the Tennessee or Mississippi river will be the object of 
the enemy's next campaign, and I trust you will be able to 
concentrate a force which will defeat either attempt. 

" The fleet which you will soon have on the Mississippi 
river, if the enemy's gunboats ascend the Tennessee, may 
enable you to strike an effective blow at Cairo ; but, to one so 
well informed and vigilant, I will not assume to offer sugges- 
tions as to when and how the ends you seek may be attained. 
With the confidence and regard of many years, I am very 
truly your friend, Jefferson Davis." 

In reply. General Johnston wrote him the famous letter of 
March 18th, 1862, in which he detailed the events which had 
culminated in the disasters of Henry and Donelson, ably vin- 
dicated himself from the charges that had been made against 
him, and concluded by saying: "The test of merit, in my pro- 
fession, with the people, is success. It is a hard rule, but I 
think it right. If I join this corps to the forces of Beauregard 
(I confess a hazardous experiment), then those who are now 
declaiming against me will be without an argument." 

Colonel T. M. Jack, in a letter addressed to Colonel Wm. 
Preston Johnston in 1877, gives a graphic account of the 
circumstances under which President Davis received this 
letter : 

" Just before the battle of Shiloh your father sent me to 
Richmond, as bearer of dispatches to President Davis. Among 
these dispatches was the celebrated letter in which success is 
recognized as the test of merit in the soldier. My duties, of 
course, were merely executive to deliver the dispatches in per- 
son and return with the answers quietly and promptly. 

" Arriving at Richmond, and announcing my business to 
the proper officer, I was at once shown into the office of Mr. Davis 
and presented to him. I had never before met the President 
of the Confederacy. He received me with courtesy, even with 
kindness, asking mc at once, 'How is your general, my friend 
General Johnston ? ' There was an earnestness in the ques- 



330 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

tion which could not be misunderstood. Replying briefly, I 
handed him my dispatches which he was in the act of opening, 
when an officer entered the room, to whom the President pre- 
sented me as General Lee. This was my first meeting with 
him also, and the last. He had not then attained the full 
measure of his fame. He was not as yet the idol of the South- 
ern people. These things came afterwards, with the recogni- 
tion by all fair-minded Christendom of the greatness of the 
Christian chieftain. There was something fascinating in his 
presence. His manner struck me as dignified, graceful and 
easy. He seated himself by my side at the window, and 
engaged me in conversation about the movements of our West- 
ern army, while the President read, in silence, the dispatches 
of your father. These two historic figures, together in the 
capital of the Confederacy^ — the one chattingpleasantlywith a 
young and unknown officer, the other engrossed with the last 
formal papers of the ranking general in the field of the Con- 
federate forces after their retreat, and on the eve of a pitched 
battle on chosen ground, — fastened themselves on the canvas 
of my memory in bright and lasting colors. Listening to the 
pleasing tones of the general's voice, I watched at the same 
time, with eager interest, the countenance of the President, as 
he read the clear, strong and frank expression of hisold friend 
and comrade, full of facts, and breathing sentiments of the 
noblest spirit. There was softness then in his face; and as 
his eye was raised from the paper, there seemed a tenderness in 
its expression, bordering on tears, surprising and pleasing at 
that critical juncture in the civil and military leader of a peo- 
ple in arms. 

" Next day the President handed me his dispatches, which 
were delivered to the general at Corinth, as he was preparing 
for the field. 

"'How did the President receive 3^ou?' ho asked in a play- 
ful way, as I handed him the dispatclK?s. ' As the aide-de- 
camp of his friend,' was my response, in the sarae spirit; after 
which he made no further allusion to the mission." 

The following was the reply borne to General Johnston by 
Colonel Jack: 

"PvicHMOND, Virginia, March 26, 1862. 

"il/y Bear General — Yours of the IStli inst. was this day 
delivered to me by your aide, Mr. Jack. I have read it with 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 331 

much satisfaction. So far as the past is concerned, it hut con- 
firms the conclusions at which I had already arrived. My 
confidence in you has never wavered, and I hope the puhlic 
will soon give me credit for judgment rather than continue to 
arraign me for obstinacy. 

" You have done wonderfully well, and now I breathe easier 
in the assurance that you will be able to make a junction of 
your two armies. If you can meet the division of the enemy 
moving from the Tennessee before it can make a junction with 
that advancing from Nashville, the future will be brighter. Jf 
this cannot be done, our only hope is that the peo})le of the 
Southwest will rally en masse with their private arms, and 
thus enable you to oppose the vast army which will threaten 
the destruction of our country. 

" I have hoped to be able to leave here for a short time, and 
would be much gratified to confer with you, and share your 
responsibilities. I might aid you in obtaining troops ; no one 
could hope to do more unless he underrated your military 
capacity. I write in great haste, and feel that it would be 
worse than useless to point out to you how much depends 
upon you. 

" ]\hiy God bless ^-ou is the sincere prayer of your friend, 

" jEFFErvSON Davis." 

The battle of Shiloh gloriously vindicated General John- 
ston, and the "obstinacy" of President Davis, in refusing to 
yield to popular clamor and remove him from command. 

On receiving the news from Shiloh, President Davis sent 
the following message to Congress: 

" To the Senate and House of Iiepresentativcs.of ilie Confederate 
States oj America: 

"The great importance of the news just received from Ten- 
nessee induces me to depart from the established usages, and 
to make to you this communication in advance of official 
reports. From official telegraphic dispatches, received from 
official sources, I am able to announce to you, with entire con- 
fidence, that it has pleased Almighty God to crown the Con- 
federate arms with a glorious and decisive victory over our 
invaders. 



332 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL '^OL UME. 

" On the morning of tlie 6th the converging columns of our 
army were combined by its commander-in-ciiief, General Albert 
Sidney Johnston, in an assault on the Federal army, then en- 
camped near Pittsburg, on the Tennessee river, 

"After a hard-fought battle often hours, the tnemy was 
driven in disorder from his position, and pursued to the Ten- 
nessee river, where, under the cover of the gunboats, he w^as at 
the last accounts endeavoring to effect his retreat by aid of his 
transports. The details of this great battle are yet too few and 
incomplete to enable me to distinguish with merited praise 
all of those who may have conspicuously earned the right to 
such distinction, and I prefer to delay our own gratification in 
recommending them to your special notice, rather than incur 
the risk of wounding the feelings of any by failing to include 
them in the list. When such a victory has been won over 
troops as numerous, well disciplined, armed, and appointed, 
as those which have been so signally routed, we may well con- 
clude that one common spirit of unflinching bravery and devo- 
tion to our country's cause must have animated every breast 
from that of the commanding general to that of the humblest 
patriot who served in the ranks. There is enough in the con- 
tinued presence of invaders on our soil to chasten our exultation 
over this brilliant success, and to remind us of tlie grave duty 
of continued exertion until we shall extort from a proud and 
vain glorious enemy the reluctant acknowledgment of our 
right to self-government. 

" But an all-wise Creator has been pleased, while vouchsaf- 
ing to us his countenance in battle, to afflict us with a severe 
dispensation, to which we must bow in humble submission. 
The last, long, lingering hope has disappeared, and it is but 
too true that General Albert Sidney Johnston is no more. 
The tale of his death is simply narrated in a dispatch from 
Colonel William Preston in the following words: 

" 'General Johnston fell yesterday, at half-past two o'cloclc, 
while leading a successful charge, turning the enemy's right 
and gaining a brillant victor^^ A minie-ball cut the artery 
of his leg, but he rode on until, from loss of blood, he fell 
exhausted, and died without pain in a few moments. Plis 
body has been entrusted to me by (general Beauregard, to be 
taken to New Orleans, and remain until instructions are 
received from his family.' 



THRFF YEAIiS OF CARNAGE. 333 

■' j\I} long and dose friendship with this departed chieftain 
and patriot forbid me to trust myself in giving vent to the 
feelings which this intelligence has evoked. Without doing 
injustice to the living, it may safely be said that our loss is 
irreparable. Among the shining hosts of the great and good 
who now cluster around the banner of our country, there 
exists no purer spirit, no more heroic soul, than that of the 
illustrious man whose death I join you in lamenting, 

" In his death he has illustrated the character for which 
through life he was conspicuous — that of singleness of pur- 
pose and devotion to duty with his whole energies. Bent on 
obtaining the victory, which he deemed essential to his coun- 
try's cause, he rode on to the accomplishment of his object, 
forgetful of self, while his very life-blood was fast ebj^ing away. 
His last breath cheered his comrades on to victory. The last 
sound he heard was their shout of victory. His last thought 
was his country, and long and deeply will his country mourn 
his loss. Jefferson Davis." 

Very similar to his friendship for Albert Sidney Johnston' 
and his clinging to him when there Avas a cruel outcry against 
him, vv'as his unwavering friendship for and confidence in 
Robert E. Lee, when, after his AVest Virginia campaign, he 
was so severely censured by the newspapers, and the feeling 
against him was so strong that nearly all of the officers on the 
South Carolina and Georgia sea coast signed a protest against 
his being placed in that important command. 

The following correspondence between General Lee and the 
President after the battle of Gettysburg is honorable alike to 
botli : 

Camp Orange, August 8th, 1863. 
'* Ml. President. — Your letters of July 28th and August 2d 
have been received, and I have waited for a leisure hour to 
reply, but 1 fear that will never come. I am extremely obliged 
to you for the attention given to the wants of this army, and 
the eHbrts made to supply them. Our absentees are return- 
ing, and I hope the earnest and beautiful appeal made to the 
^ountry in your proclamation may stir up the whole people, 



S34 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

and that they may see their duty and perform it. Nothing is 
wanted but that their fortitude should equal their bravery to 
insure the success of our cause. "We must expect reverses; 
even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, 
to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into 
greater disasters. Our people have only to be true and uni- 
ted, to bear manfully the misfortunes incident to war, and all 
will come right in the end. 

" I know how prone we are to censure, and how ready to 
blame others for the non-fulfillment of our expectations. This 
is unbecoming in a generous people, and I grieve to see its 
expression. The general remedy for the want of success in a 
military commander is his removal. This is natural, and in 
many instances proper ; for no matter what may be the abil- 
ity of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops, dis- 
aster must sooner or later ensue. 

" I have been prompted by these reflections more than once 
since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to your Excel- 
lency the propriety of selecting another commander for this 
army. I have seen and heard of ex{)ressions of discontent 
in the public journals as to the result of the expedition. I 
do not know how far this feeling extends in the army. My 
brother officers have been too kind to rei)ort it, and so 
far, the troops have been too generous to exhibit it. It is 
fair, however, to suppose that it does exist and success is so 
necessary to us that nothing should be risked to secure it. I, 
therefore, in all sincerity, request your Excellency to take 
measures to supply my place. I d>) this with the more 
earnestness, because no one is more aware thnn myself of my 
inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accom- 
plish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations 
of others? In addition I sensibly feel the growing failure of 
my bodily strength. I have not yet recovered from the attack 
I experienced the past spring. I am becoming more and more 
incapable of exertion, and am thus prevented from making 
the personal examination and giving the personal supervision 
to the operations in the field which I feel to be necessary. I 
am so dull that in making use of the eyes of others I am fre- 
quently misled. Everything, therefore, points to the advan- 
tages to be derived from a new commander, and I the more 
anxiously urge the matter upon your Excellency from my 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 33' 

belief that a j'ounger and abler man than myself can readily 
be obtained. I know that he will have as gallant and brave 
an array as ever existed to second his efforts, and it would be 
the happiest day of my life to see at its head a worthy leader — 
one that would accomplish more than I could perform and all 
that I have wished. I hope your Excellency will attribute my 
request to the true reason— the desire to serve my country and 
to do all in my power to insure the success of her righteous 
cause. 

"I have no complaints to make of any one but myself. I 
have received nothing but kindness from those above me, and 
the most considerate attentions from my comrades and com- 
panions in arms. To your Excellency I am especially in- 
debted for uniform kindness and consideration. You have 
done everything in your power to aid me in tlie work com- 
mitted to my charge without omitting anything to promote 
the general welfare. I pray that your efforts may at length 
be crowned with success, and that you may long live to enjoy 
the thanks of a grateful people. 

" With sentiments of great esteem, I am very respectfully 
and truly yours, 

" R. E. Lee, General. 

" His Excellency Jefferson Davis, 

^^ President of Confederate States.^^ 

" Richmond, Va., August 11, 18G3. 
" General R. E. Lee, Commanding Army of Northern Virginia: 

" Yours of the 8th instant has just been received. I am 
glad that you concur so entirely with me as to the wants of 
our country in this trying hour, and am happy to add that 
after the first depression con.sequent upon our disasters in the 
West indications have appeared that our people will exhibit 
that fortitude which we agree in believing is alone needful to 
secure ultimate success. 

"It well became Sidney Johnston, when overwhelmed by a 
senseless clamor, to admit the rule that success is the test of 
merit; and yet there has been nothing which I have found to 
require a greater effort of patience than to bear the criticisms 
of the ignorant, who pronounce everything a failure which 
does not equal their expectations or desires, and can see no 
good result which is not in the line of their own imaginings. 



388 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLVME. 

I admit the propriety of your conclusions that an officer who 
loses the confidence of his troops should have his position 
changed, whatever may be his ability ; but when I read the 
sentence I was not at all prepared for the application you were 
about to make. Expressions of discontent in the public jour- 
nals furnish but little evidence of the sentiment of the army. 
I wish it were otherwise, even tliough all the abuse of m3'self 
should be accepted as the results of honest observation. 

" Werej'ou capable of stooping to it, you could easily surround 
yourself with those who would till the press with your lauda- 
tions, and seek to exalt you for what you had not done, rather 
than detract from the achievements which will make you and 
your army the subject of history and object of the world's 
admiration for generations to come. 

" I am truly sorry to know that you still feel the effects of 
the illness you suffered last spring, and can readily understand 
the embarrassments you experience in using the eyes of others, 
having been so much accustomed to make your own recon- 
noissances. Practice will, however, do much to relieve that 
embarrassment, and the minute knowledge of the country 
which you had acquired will. render you less dependent for 
topographical information. 

" I3ut suppose, my dear friend, that I were to admit, with 
all their implications, the points which you present, where am 
I to find that new commander who is to possess the greater 
ability which you believe to be required ? I do not doubt the 
readiness wnth which you would give way to one who could 
accomplish all that j'ou have wished, and you wull do me the 
justice to believe that if Providence should kindly offer such a 
person for our use I would not hesitate to avail [myself] of his« 
services. 

"My sight is not sufficiently penetrating to discover such 
hidden merit, if it exists, and I have but used to you the lan- 
guage of sober earnestness, when I have impressed upon you 
the propriety of avoiding all unnecessary exposure to danger, 
because I felt our country could not bear to lose you. To 
ask me to substitute you oy some one in my judgment 
more fit to command, or who would possess more of the con- 
fidence of the army, or of the reflecting men of the country, 
is to demand an impossibility. 

*' It only remains for me to hope that you will take all pos- 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 337 

sible care of yourself, that your health and strength may be 
entirely restored, and that the Lord will preserve you for the 
important duties devolved upon you in the struggle of our suf- 
fering country for the independence of which we have engaged 
in war to maintain. As ever, very respectfully and truly, 

"Jeff'n Davis." 

AVe do not know how we can better illustrate the life and 
character of this great man during this eventful period than 
by giving the recollections of him of men who were in posi- 
tion to see and know him intimately. 

RECOLLECTIONS OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHN H. REAGAN, 
FORMER CONFEDERATE POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 

The following from the Baltimore Sun will be found of great 
interest and value : 

" Washington, December 6. 

' Senator Reagan, of Texas, who was Postmaster-General of 
the Southern Confederacy, was seated in his comfortable 
library on P street when a representative; of the Sun was 
announced. The Senator had before him several letters 
which he had recently received from Mr. Davis. He said 
that Mr. Davis had been so generally misunderstood that any- 
thing said in his behalf might be subjected to the same mis- 
construction. The public had the impression that Mr. Davis 
was an austere and arbitrary man, when just the reverse was 
the case. He had two characters — one for public affairs and 
one for his personal and private relations. He was not hasty 
at forming conclusions, and was ever ready to receive sugges- 
tions from his friends and political advisers. ' I remember 
well the first cabinet meeting I attended,' said the Senator. 
* Mr. Davis then informed his advisers that he wanted us to 
be as frank with him as he would be with us.' In the prepara- 
tion of his messages to Congress he invited the fullest and 
freest discussion of the subjects treated. I remember well one 
of his favorite remarks, and that was, * if a paper can't stand 
the criticism of its friends it will be in a bad way when it gets 
into the hands of its enemies.' I have always remembered 
that remark, because it has frequently been my guide in mat- 
ters of legislation. 
22 



338 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" In the organization of the various departments under the 
Confederacy Mr. Davis at one of the cabinet meetings informed 
us that we would be called upon to select the men whom we 
needed to assist us and he would appoint them. But he 
impressed upon us the fact that we would be held responsible 
for the conduct and efficiency of the appointees. Mr. Davis 
was a civil-service reformer in a certain sense, but not in the 
sense of the present administration of the law on that subject. 
He was firm in his conclusions and patient in his investiga- 
tions. In his domestic life he was amiable and gentle, but in 
official life he knew no word but duty. I remember very well 
our last formal cabinet meeting. It was after we had left 
Richmond and were traveling through the southern portion 
of North Carolina. I believe it was just near the border of 
the two States, North and South Carolina. It was under a 
big pine tree that we stopped to take some lunch. Mr, Tren- 
holm, the Secretary of the Treasury, was absent. He had 
been taken sick at Charlotte, and after trjang to keep up with 
us for about twenty miles he gave out and tendered his resig- 
nation. The resignation of Mr. Trenholm was discussed, and 
it was finally accepted, and I was selected to take charge of 
his office in conjunction with that of Postmaster-General. I 
remember on that occasion Mr. Davis said, when I requested 
to be relieved from that additional dut}': * You can look after 
that without much trouble. We have concluded that there 
is not much for the Secretary of the Treasury to do, and there 
is but little money left for him to steal.' That was sometime 
in April, 1865, 

" Sometime after that George Davis, the Attorney-General, 
asked Mr, Davis's advice about retiring from the cabinet. 
The Attorney-General said he wanted to stand by the Confed- 
eracy, but liis family and his property were at Wilmington, 
and he was in doubt as to where his duty called him. ' By 
the side of your family,' promptly responded Mr. Davis. 
After the Attorney-General left us there were only four mem- 
bers of the cabinet left to continue the journey to Washing- 
ton, Ga., which was our destination. There was Breckinridge, 
Secretary of War; Benjamin, Secretary of State; Mallory, 
Secretary of the Navy, and myself. We put up at Abbeville, 
S, C, for the night because we were informed that a lot of 
Yankee cavalry were in Washington, Ga. At that point Ben- 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 339 

jamin said he proposed to leave the country and get as far 
away from the United States as possible. Mr. Davis asked 
him how he proposed to get down to the coast, * Oh/ replied 
Benjamin, 'there is a distinguished Frenchman whose name 
and initials are the same as mine, and as I can talk a little 
French I propose to pass myself off as the French Benjamin.' 

" While passing through South Carolina I was particularly 
struck with Mr. Davis's generosity. We were passing a little 
cabin on the road, and we stopped to get a drink ol water. A 
woman, poorly clad, came out to serve us. She recognized 
Mr. Davis and informed him that her only son was named 
after him. It was a very warm day, and the cool water was 
very refreshing. Mr. Davis took from his pocket the last piece 
of coin he possessed, and gave it to the woman and told her 
to give it to his namesake. At our next stopping place we 
compared our cash accounts, and Mr. Davis had a few Con- 
federate notes, which was every cent of money he possessed in 
this world. 

"Senator Reagan did not see Mr. Davis again until after 
the Democratic convention held in Baltimore in 1872. ' On 
my way home,' he said, ' I met him in Memphis.' I did not 
see him again until about two years ago. We have corres- 
ponded during all these years, and only three weeks ago I 
received a long letter from him expressing his regret that he 
could not accept my invitation for him to visit W^ashington 
this winter and be my guest.' Here Senator Reagan exhibited 
a number of letters in Mr. Davis's own handwriting, and the 
writing was more like that of an expert correspondence clerk 
than like that of an old gentleman of 81. In one of the let- 
ters Mr. Davis, after thanking Senator Reagan for certain 
courtesies and several congressional documents, referred to the 
Congressional Directory, and observed that the compiler of that 
book in reviewing the extension of the Capitol building made 
no mention of Jefferson Davis, although the latter was on the 
committee that prepared the bill and advocated its passage. 
He also corrects a general error with reference to the statue-on 
the dome of the Capitol. He says the sculptor was not Craw- 
ford, as some people claim, but Hiram Powers. It is intended 
to represent America. Senator Reagan's son is named Jeffer- 
son Davis Reagan, and in all of Mr. Davis's letters he invaria- 
bly made some pleasant allusion to his namesake. 



340 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" 'My. Davis,' added Senator Reagan, 'was one of the few 
men who measured the full force of the war. He from the 
first contended that it was likely to last a number of years 
instead of a few months, as many persons predicted. It was 
at first proposed to enlist an army of two or three hundred' 
thousand men for six months, for by thlittime.it was supposed 
that the war would be over. J\Ir. Davis promptly disposed of 
that suggestion by declaring tliat it would take at least a year 
to organize an efficient army, as soldiers could not be made in 
a few days. He said it would be wiser to establish a smaller 
army, one that we could afford to arm and equip. From the 
first he maintained that it would be a long and bloody war, 
but many Southern men differed with him, and the result was 
we were obliged to pass that terrible act of conscription to 
keep our men in the service. 

" * There is another question that I wish to touch upon in 
this connection," said the Senator. ' I have frequently referred 
to the question of his disabilities, and we have discussed the 
subject from various standpoints. Invariably Mr. Davis 
declared that he could not conscientiously ask to have his dis- 
abilities removed, for he could not induce himself to believe 
that he had done wi'ong. He was firm in his convictions on 
that point, and nothing could move him.' 

" * What were his characteristics ?' 

'' ' He was a man of great labor, of great learning, of great 
integrity, of great purity.' 

"'What, from your knowledge and acquaintance with the 
man, was the principal motive which actuated him in going 
into the rebellion?' 

"*To secure a government that should be friendly to the 
people. He was an intense believer in the doctrine that the 
States should control absolutely their domestic affairs, and 
that the general government had no power or authority to act 
outside of the matters specially delegated to it.' 

" ' There was, then, no vindictiveness, no hostility to the 
Northern people.' ^ 

"' Not at all ; not at all. So far from that being the case, 
Mr. Davis had served in the army and in the War Depart- 
ment, had been a member of both branches of Congress, dur- 
ing all of which experience he associated with the Northern 
jDeople in such relations that for a year or two before the war 




GEN. A. p. HILL ORDERING GEN. LEE AND MR. DAVIS TO THE REAR 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 341 

the radical Southern leaders did iiat confer with him at all. 
I know this, for I was here, and familiar with what was going 
on.' 

" ' Why was he elected to the presidency of the Confederacy 
if the leaders felt so disposed toward him?' 

" * Because they recognized his ability and integrity of 
character, and knew that he could be depended on.' 

" * Did his trouble during the war with General Johnston, 
grow out of the lack of confidence expressed before the rebel- 
lion began?' 

" ' I do not care to go into that trouble, for it is one about 
which I know but little. This much, however, I can say: 
That before the differences arose between them (and they 
related to questions of rank and precedence merely in appoint- 
ments), they were the best of friends. Both were conservative 
by nature ; both were ardent States-rights men, and their 
divergence was not occasioned by any variance of views as to 
policy.' 

"* What will be the effect of his death upon the South?' 

" * There will be general sorrow of the people, for the people 
of the South greatly loved him.' 

"'Will it afTect in any way the sentiment in favor of accept- 
ing the results of the war of the rebellion as final ? ' 

"'Not at all. Why, Mr. Davis himself always urged the 
fullest acceptance of the present condition of affairs.' 

« ' Why, then, did he not ask to have his disabilities 
removed ? ' 

" * Because he did not feel that he had done anything which 
required him to ask any man's pardon. He had done his 
duty as he had conscientiously seen it, and he had no apolo- 
gies to make therefor. Mr. Davis was greatly misjudged in 
many ways. He was the most devout Christian I ever knew, 
and the most self-sacrificing man. When his plantation was 
in danger of being seized and the property destroyed he was 
urged by friends to send a force of men to protect it. 'The 
President of the Confederacy,' he responded, ' cannot afford to 
use public means to preserve private interests, and I cannot 
employ men to take care of my property'; and so when his 
hill property in Hinds county was threatened, and all his 
books and papers were in danger of destruction, he again 
resisted all persuasions of friends to have them protected.' 



342 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Mr, Reagan said he knew nothing about the intention of 
the southern members of Congress, whether or not any of them 
would attend the funeral, as at that time he had seen no one." 

RECOLLECTIONS OF HON. GEORGE DAVIS, OP NORTH CAROLINA, 
CONFEDERATE ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 

In his address at the memorial meeting at Wilmington, N. 
C, Hon. George Davis recalled his association with President 
Davis in such touching and eloquent style that we quote his 
remarks in full: 

" Mr. Davis opened his remarks by quoting from Psalms 
LXXXIL, 6 and 7 : * I have said, ye are gods, and all of you 
are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men, 
and fall like one of the princes.' 

" Jefferson Davis, said the speaker, was a. prince, a true 
prince in all that was most noble. To die in the purple of 
power of state, to fall in the rush of battle where cannons roar 
and bayonets are flashing, to sink in the arms of victory, to 
end in the glare and dazzle of proud achievements — these 
things were not for him. 

" After long years of toil and anxiety, of strife and bitter- 
ness, of struggle and failure, of hatred a^nd insult and slander, 
of poverty and misfortune, of weariness, pain and suffering, 
having finished his course he now rests from his labors — rests 
in peace. He has passed from earth enduring unto the end. 

Oh ! let him pass. He hates him 
That would upon the rack of this tough world 
Stretch him out longer.' 

" Whatever was great in his public life — and there was 
much — whatever was memorable in his actions as soldier, 
scholar, orator, statesman, patriot, these things I relegate to 
history. I desire only to utter a few simple words in loving 
remembrance of the chief I honor, of the man I admire, of 
the dead friend whom I loved. What manner of man was 
this for whom ten millions of people are in grief and tears this 
day? No man ever lived upon whom the glare of public 
attention beat more fiercely, no man ever lived more sharply 
criticised, more unjustly slandered, more sternly censured, 
more strongly condemned, more bitterly hated, =more wrongly 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE, 343 

maligned, and though slandered by enemies, betrayed by false 
friends, carped at by ignorant fools, no man ever lived who 
could more fearlessly, like a great man who long preceded 
him, ' leave the vindication of his fair fame to the next age 
and to men's charitable speeches.' Standing here to-day by 
his open grave, and in all human probability not very far from 
my own, 1 declare to you that he was the most honest, truest, 
gentlest, bravest, tenderest, manliest man I ever knew ; and what 
more could I say than that? My public life was long since over, 
my ambition went down with the banner of the Lost Cause, and 
like it never rose again. I have had abundant time in all 
these quiet years, and it has been my favorite occupation, to 
review the occurrences of that time and retrospect over the 
history of that tremendous struggle, to remember with love 
and admiration the great men who bore their parts in its events. 

" I have often thought what was it that the southern people 
had to be most proud of in all the proud things of their record. 
Not the achievements of our arms. No man is more proud of 
them than I ; no man rejoices more in Manassas, Chanceilors- 
ville, and in Richmond ; but all nations have had their victo- 
ries. There is something, I think, better than that, and it was 
this — that through all the bitterness of that time, and through- 
out all the heat of that bitter contest, Jefferson Davis and 
Robert E. Lee never spoke a word, never wrote a line, that the 
whole neutral world did not accept as the very indisputable 
truth. You all remember that Mr. Davis did not send a mes-. 
sage to Congress, in which he portrayed the condition and 
causes of things, that all the world did not know it to be true. 
You know, Mr. Chairman, and you remember, you old gray 
jackets ; yes, you all remember, that when General Lee in his 
quiet, modest, reverent way would telegraph to ^Ir. Davis at 
Richmond that God had mercifully blessed our arms, all the 
lying bulletins that flashed over a continent could not make 
the world believe that there had been a Federal victor}'. Aye, 
truth was the guiding stal" of both of them, and that is a grand 
thing to remember; upon that my memory rests more proudly 
than upon anything else. It is a monument better than 
marble, more durable than brass. Teach it to your children, 
that they may be proud to remember Jefferson Davis." 

" Mr. Davis stated that Jefferson Davi.3 was one of the few 
men he had ever known, one of two or three he had known. 



344 ' THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

who did not grow smaller as you got nearer to them. * The 
more you knew him/ said Mr. Davis, ' the nearer you came to 
him ; the more you saw and heard him the greater he grew.* 

" He has been growing greater and greater for twenty-live 
years; he will be greater one hundred years hence than he is 
to-day. Such wonderful and accurate information I never 
saw. He seemed to me to have traversed the whole course of 
science and of nature and of art. Whatever was the topic of 
conversation, from making a horseshoe to interpreting the con- 
stitution, from adjusting a jack-plane to building a railroad, he 
not only seemed to know all about it, but could tell you the 
most approved methods of doing it all. Some people have an 
idea, and not a few I expect, that Mr. Davis was a cold, severe, 
austere, unfeeling man. There never was a more untrue 
opinion. No man ever had a better right to know than I. 
For sixteen months I had the honor to be at the head of the 
law department of his government, and every sentence of a 
military court that went to Mr. Davis was referred to me for 
examination and report. I do not think that I am a very 
cruel man, but I declare to you that it was the most difficult 
thing in the world to keep Mr. Davis up to the measure of 
justice. He wanted to pardon everybody, and if ever a wife 
or mother or a sister got into his presence it took but a little 
while for their tears to wash out the records. 

" The speaker here referred very feelingly to a touching inci- 
dent of tenderness and affection displayed by Jefferson Davis 
at the death -bed of the wife of General Dick Taylor. 

" I do not know," said Mr. Davis, "but I profess to you that 
I thoroughly believe that he never could read the story of 
* Little Nell ' or the death of Colonel Newcombe without his 
eyes being bedimned with tears. Once he was indisposed in 
Richmond, so sick that the physician confined him to the bed. 
To relieve tlie monotony his wife was reading to him one 
morning some story — I do not remember what. He was so 
quiet that Mrs. Davis thought that he was asleep, but did not 
stop for fear of awaking him. She got to that portion of the 
book where the villain of the story got the heroine into his 
power and was coming it pretty strong over her, when sud- 
denly she heard him exclaim: 'The infernal villain!' and 
looking around, the President was sitting up in bed with both 
fists clenched. Well, this is a little thing ; do you respect him 



THRE'E YEARS OF CARNAGE. 345 

less for it? It showed that he was a man, not a cold image 
set up on a pedestal for us to admire — a man with the faults 
and weaknesses of human nature, but a man with the great 
virtues, great human nature. I never saw a man more 
simple in his habits of life. He surrounded himself with no 
barriers of forms and ceremonies. The humblest soldier in 
the ranks, the plainest citizen in the Confederacy, could have 
as easy access to him as the members of his cabinet when such 
demands on his time were consistent with the interests of his 
country. No man ever lived who more thoroughly despised the 
mere show and tinsel of state and power, and the trappings of 
office. Nowadays if Mr. Secretary takes it in his head to go a 
junketing, or a negro is to be sent on a mission to an insignifi- 
cant nation of negroes who do not want him, nothing but a 
war-ship of the government Vv'ill suffice to sustain their dignity. 
''Mr. Davis was at the head of one of the grandest armies 
that the world ever saw in a time Avhen 'laws were silenced in 
the midst of arms,' and I give you my word I never saw him 
attended by a guard or by an orderly. His domestic servants 
were all that were needed and all that he would have. I say 
he was never attended by a guard ; he was once, and I shaJ 
never forget his delight when he told me of it. When General 
Lee was encamped on the banks of the Chickahominy near 
Richmond, Mr. Davis was in the habit every afternoon after 
the business of his office was over of riding out to his head- 
quarters. Upon these visits he always went on horseback and 
generally alone. Upon one occasion he was detamed later 
than usual, and night had fallen before he left General Lee's 
tent. As he rode along he heard a horse approaching rapidly 
and presently a cheery young voice called out * Good evening,' 
and, as he turned to salute, a young lad rode up to his side — a 
young boy of some 16 or 17 years of age, but he wore the 
gray jacket, and had his rifle on his shoulder and his revolver 
in his belt. ' Good evening. Is your name Davis — Jefferson 
Da^is?' 'Yes.' 'Well, don't you think you are doing very 
wrong to be riding around in the dark by yourself?' Mr. 
Davis said he was within our lines and had nothing to fear 
from Confederate soldiers. 'It ain't right,' said the boy, ' for 
there are bad men in our army as well as in all armies.' AVhen 
about two miles from Richmond and the outposts were reached 
he said : 'Well, I reckon I'll go back now.' The brave lad 



3^o rilE DA VIS MEMORIAL YOL UME. 

thouglit of the President as in clanger and he made himself 
his bodyguard, determined to see him through ; and he would 
have died for him there upon that lonely road with as much 
bravery and cheerfulness as thousands of his comrades were 
dying every day for the cause Mr. Davis represented. 

*"Ah, his people loved him, and have met together to-day to 
show it to the world. I once witnessed a scene which showed 
how the people loved him. In May, 1SG7, after two years of 
the most brutal treatment, the most brutal imj)risonment the 
world ever saw, outside of Siberia, unrelieved by the slighte^.t 
touch of kindness or generosity, Mr. Davis was brought to 
trial before the Federal court in Richmond. I chanced to be 
there, and promised Mrs. Davis, as soon as I had any intima- 
tion of wliat tlie court was going to do, to come and rcpoi t. I 
sat in the court when Chief-Justice Chase announced that the 
prisoner was released. I never knew how I got out of that 
court-house, or through the crowd that lined the streets, but I 
found myself in Mrs. Davis's room and reported. In a little 
v.diile I looked out of a window and saw that the streets wore 
lined with thousands and thousands of the people of Rich- 
mond, and scarcely passage was there even for the carriage in 
which Mr. Davis rode at a funeral gait; and as he rode every 
head was bared, not a sound was heard, except now and then 
a long sigh, and so he ascended to his wife's chamber. That 
room was crowded with friends, male and female. As I'slr. 
Davis entered they rushed to him and threw their arms aroun<l 
him. They embraced each other; old soldiers, men of tried 
daring, cried like infants. Dear old Dr. Minnegerode lifted up 
his hands, with big tears rolling down his cheeks, and the 
assembled company knelt down Avhile he offered up a short 
thanksgiving to God for having restored to us our revered 
chieftain. 

*' Now what more can I say? I have endeavored to give 
you these little personal traits of Mr. Davis in order that you 
might know him better. He was a high-toned, pure-hearted, 
Christian gentleman, and if our poor humanityhas any higher 
form tlian that I know not what it is. His great and active 
intellect never exercised itself with questioning the being of 
God or the truth of His revelations to man. He never thought 
it M'ise or smart to scoff at mysteries which he could not 
understand. He never was darine: enouo^h to measure infinite 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 347 

power and goodness by the poor narrow gauge of a limited, 
crippled human intellect. Where he understood he admired^ 
worshiped, adored. Where he could not understand he rested 
unquestionably upon a faith that was as the faith of a little 
child — a faith that never wavered, and that made him look 
always undoubtingly, fearlessly, through life, through death, 
to life again." 

REMINISCENCES OF EX-GOVERNOR F. R. LUBBOCK OF MR. 
DAVIS'S STAFF. 

Ex-Governor F. R. Lubbock, of Texas, ha-s been one of Mr. 
Davis's most ardent admirers and devoted friends, and we are 
indebted to him for the following reminiscences of his friends 
on whose personal staff he served, and with wliom he was 
most intimately associated : 

" I had know very little of Mr. Davis personally previous to 

1860. Of course his history as a soldier and statesman was 
well known to all men w^ho had read of the Mexican war and 
had kept posted in the politics of the country. But the Con- 
federacy was the era from which I date our friendship. 

" I was elected Governor of the State of Texas in August, 

1861, a few months after commencement of hostilities between 
the States. As soon after as it was possible, I hastened to 
Richmond that I might confer with the President of the Con- 
federate States, and learn from him how I could best aid the 
Confederacy. On arriving at Richmond I found Mr. Davis 
absent from the city, and with the army. I proceeded to join 
him and returned with him to the seat of government. The 
interview was most interesting to me. He imparted much 
information as to his future plans of operation, suggesting 
ways in wdiich the governors of the several States could 
strengthen the power and further the onward march of the 
Confederacy without impairing their rights or trenching upon 
their sovereignty. In a few days I returned to Texas, deter- 
mined to give to the government of the Confederate States 
every assistance in my power. 

" Having signified my determination to enter the army at 
the expiration of my gubernatorial term the President did me 



348 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

the honor on the 5th of November, 1863, the day my term 
expired, to appoint me assistant adjutant-general in the Con- 
federate army with rank of lieutenant-colonel, and I was on 
that day assigned to duty by Lieutenant-General E. Kirby 
Smith, commanding the Trans-Mississippi department. 

" In June, 1864, while with the army in Louisiana, I was 
nominated by the President of the Confederate States and 
confirmed by the Senate to be an aide to the President with 
rank of colonel of cavahy. I was advised by Mr. Davis of 
my appointment and contirmation, which, as he said, was 
made without opportunity for consultation or information as 
to my wishes for the reason that he required at once the ser- 
vices of some one well informed as to the wants and demands 
of the Trans-Mississippi department. He desired, should I 
accept, that I would report to him as soon as convenient. In 
a very few hours after receiving my commission I left the 
army in Louisiana, and repairing to Richmond reported for 
duty. My reception was all I could have desired. Mr. Davis, 
always kind and polite, assured me of his pleasure at my 
coming so promptly, and made me feel quite at home in his 
military family. 

"My first impression when I entered into his presence con- 
firmed my previously-formed opinion of his grand and digni- 
fied character, of his patriotism and devotion to the work to 
which he had been called by his people. Constant attendance 
day by day upon the Executive, which, in his office, or during 
his quite frequent visits to the field, the camp and the hospital 
founded in my heart a strong love for the man, and still more 
increased my admiration for the soldier and the statesman. 
Frequently visiting his home in Richmond and seeing him 
with his talented and lovely wife and surrounded by his chil- 
dren, I knew him as the noble husband and affectionate Chris- 
tian parent. Beside the happiness of his family he a{)peared 
never to be concerned about anything but the welfare of his 
people. From the day I took service with him to the very 
moment that we were separated, subsequent to our capture, I 
witnessed liis unselfishness. He forgot himself and displayed 
more self-abnegation than any human being I have ever 
known. While Commander-in-Chief, with thousands at his 
command, he always declined escorts and guards, and when 
cautioned about exposing himself to danger, he invariably 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 349 

replied : ' I have no fears for mj^self,' and in the most unpre- 
tentious manner he would visit the lines of the army oftener 
with one aide than more. While fond of society he rarely, if 
ever, sought it during the war, it being his pleasant duty to 
give every hour of his time to his country. While burdened 
with weighty matters of state he was kindly attentive to all 
classes of people. He was as polite and affable to the hum- 
blest soldier or his messenger boy as to the officer of highest 
rank in the army. For this reason he was loved by all who 
served near his person. He was always welcomed with great 
cordiality when visiting the troops in their quarters. 

" It has been asserted that he was harsh and severe to those 
with whom he differed. This is an entire misapprehension of 
his nature and disposition. Though tenacious of his own 
opinions and quite fixed in his judgment when formed, he 
seemed to me to be much * more tolerant than other men of 
ability and power with whom I have been associated/ while 
others would be intolerant and very exacting during our strug- 
gle he would be the apologist of many wlio failed in their 
duty, treating delinquents with compassion and leiniency. 

" I shall not speak of him as an orator seldom equalled. 
As a conversationalist he surpassed all I have ever known. 
His accurate observations and extensive reading made him 
most charming as a companion, and as a traveling companion 
the life of any party. After the war was over I had the plea- 
sure of accompanying him in England, France and Scotland. 
He would astonish the residents by his wonderful recitals of their 
great historical events both of peace and war. I remember on 
one occasion, in company with a party of Scotch friends, his 
description of their great battles and the knowledge of their 
battle-fields amazed his listeners. He quoted Burns and 
Scott repeatedly — he was very fond of both authors — and this 
remark, afterwards incorporated in a book published in Scot- 
land, was made by one of the company : * If Scott's works 
were destroyed they could be reproduced by the ex-President 
of the Confederate States.' 

"If, however, Mr. Davis was great during the war he was 
grand when disaster and defeat overtook the Confederate cause. 
I loved and admired him while in power; as the head of the 
Lost Cause a captive in the hands of the foe I loved and admired 
him still. His great dignity and firmness of character did 



350 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

honor to the people whom he represented, while his brave 
resignation adorned the Christian religion. No murmur 
escaped his lips, while the hot blood of indignation fired my 
heart and tongue at the indignities heaped upon him in his 
most trying hour. Since then, thank God, he has lived loHg 
enough to win the respect of his intelligent enemies by his 
manly bearing, and to secure the gratitude of his friends by 
giving to us a history that tells both sides of the great issues 
that divided the States. 

" And now, though deprived of his citizenship and made 
the mark at which the shafts of the ' bloody shirt ' politicians 
are hurled, ke stands before the united country recognized as 
the greatest living man of the day ; and when he departs 
hence a great and good man, a Christian, pure and unsullied, 
will enter the better land in which his citizenship will not be 
denied him and where his noble soul can put forth full energy 
and be happy, while impartial history will fully accord to him 
greatness and goodness." 

" The above article was written more than five years ago. 
The end has come and our grand old chief has been laid to 
rest. The writer was present to look once again upon his noble 
features before they were forever shut from view. It was glo- 
rious to see how the States honored him. It was more glorious 
to see how the old veterans, the masses of men, the fair women, 
and the lovely children eager to strew with flowers the bier of 
their illustrious dead, flocked to the great city of the South- 
land where true hearts had made for him such princely obse- 
quies. 

" What homage to his name that so many of the States are 
contending for the possession of his ver^'' dust. Wherever it 
is laid it will be a sacred spot to be visited in after years by 
the lovers of constitutional liberty. Then, inspired by the 
voice that rises from that tomb, they shall consecrate anew 
their energies to the preservation of our government as 
bequeathed to hs by our sires of the Revolution." 

THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. 

It has been the custom of Northern writers to represent Mr. 
Davis as guilty of the utmost cruelty in the conduct of the 
war — of being knowingly and deliberately " guilty of the hor- 




Bust by Volck, from which the Confederate Postage Stamp was engraved during the Confederacy. 
Original in the possession of W. W. Davles, Lee Gallery, Richmond, Va. 



352 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

rors of Andersonville " — and of violating in the conduct of the 
war not only the principles of States' rights, for which he 
contended, but the usages of civilized warfare as well. 

Never was there a charge with less foundation made — never 
a bolder effort to falsify history by attempting to fix on the Con- 
federate government the iniquities of which the Federal 
government was guilty. 

The accomplished editor of the Raleigh News and Observer 
well puts it when he says : 

" It is profitless to discuss how far any measure of the Con- 
federate government was right or wrong, but as for Mr. Davis, 
he had the responsibility ; he had full knowledge of all the 
circumstances; he had the general plan of the whole war from 
Texas to the Potomac to subserve and watch and to carry out. 
It is to our glory that there was no Fort Lafayette at the Soutli. 
It is to the honor of the Confederate government that no Con- 
federate secretary ever could touch a bell and send a citizen to 
prison.'' 

On the floor of the House of Representatives in 1876, Hon. 
James Blaine, of Maine, made a furious attack on Mr. Davis 
as " the author of the crimes of Andersonville." 

Hon. B. H. Hill, of Georgia, was, fortunately for the truth of 
history, a member of the House and made an able, eloquent, 
and perfectly triumphant reply to Mr. Blaine, in which he 
completely vindicated the name and fame of the great Con- 
federate leader. 

The author was at that time secretary of the Southern His- 
torical Society, and in two successive numbers of the Southern 
Historical Society Papers (March and April, 1876,) we took uj) 
and discussed the whole question of the " Treatment of Pri- 
soners During the War Between the States." We published 
letters from Mr. Davis, General Lee, Vice-President A. H. 
Stephens, the Confederate Commissioner of Exchange, Judge 
Robert Ould, the report of the Confederate Congressional Com- 
mittee on the Treatment of Prisoners, statements of the L^nited 



THREE YEAES OF CARNAGE. 353 

States Assistant Secretary of War, Hon. Charles A. Dana, 
General B. F. Butler, General U. S. Grant, and a large number 
of others, and we closed our discussion with the following 
summing up of the points made: 

" "We think that we have established the following points : 

" 1. The laws of the Confederate Congress, the orders 
of the War Department, the regulations of the Surgeon-Gene- 
ral, the action of our generals in the field, and the orders 
of those who had the immediate charge of the prisoners, all 
provided that prisoners in the hands of the Confederates should 
be kindly treated, supplied with the same rations which our 
soldiers had, and cared for when sick in hospitals placed on 
precisely the same footing as the hospitals for Confederate soldiers. 

" 2. If these regulations were violated in individual instances, 
and if subordinates were sometimes cruel to prisoners, it was 
without the knowledge or consent of the Confederate govern- 
ment, which always took prompt action on any case reported 
to them. 

"3. If the prisoners failed to get their full rations and had 
those of inferior quality, the Confederate soldiers suffered in 
precisely the same way and to the same extent, and it resulted 
from that system of warfare adopted by the Federal authori- 
ties, which carried desolation and ruin to every part of the 
South they could reach, and which in starving the Confederates 
into submission brought the same evils upon their own men 
in Southern prisons. 

" 4. The mortality in Southern prisons (fearfully large, 
although over three per cent, less than the mortality in Northern 
jomons) resulted from causes beyond the control of our authori- 
ties — from epidemics, &c., which might have been avoided, or 
greatly mitigated, had not the Federal government declared 
medicines * contraband of war ' — refused the proposition of 
Judge Ould that each government should send its own sur- 
geons with medicines, hospital stores, &c., to minister to sol- 
diers in prison — declined his proposition to send medicines to 
its own men in Southern prisons, without being required to 
allow the Confederates the same privilege— ^refused to allow 
the Confederate government to buy medicines for gold, tobacco, 
or cotton, which it offered to pledge its honor should be used 
only for Federal prisoners in its hands — refused to exchange 



354 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

sick and wounded — and neglected from August to December, 
1864, to accede to Judge Quid's proposition to send transpor- 
tation to Savannah and receive ivithout equivalent from ten to 
fifteen thousand Federal prisoners, notwithstanding the fact 
that this offer was accompanied with a statement of the utter 
inability of the Confederacy to provide for these prisoners and 
a detailed report of the fearful mortality at Andersonville, 
and that Judge Ould again and again urged compliance with 
liis humane proposal. 

"5. We have proven, by the most unimpeachable testimony, 
that the sufferings of Confederate prisoners in Northern 'prison 
l^ens ' were terrible beyond description — that they were starved 
in a land of plenty — that they were frozen where fuel and 
clothing were abundant — that they suffered untold horrors for 
want of medicines, hospital stores, and proper medical atten- 
tion — that they were shot by sentinels, beaten by officers, and 
subjected to the most cruel punishments upon the slightest 
pretexts — that friends at the North were refused the privilege 
of clothing their nakedness or feeding them when starving — 
and that these outrages were perpetrated not only with the full 
knowledge of, but under the orders of E. M. Stanton, United 
States Secretary of War. We have proven these things by 
Federal as well as Confederate testimony. 

" 6. We have shown that all the suffering of prisoners on 
both sides could have been avoided by simply carrying out 
the terms of the cartel, and that for the failure to do this the 
Federal autJiorities alone were responsible; that the Confederate 
government originally proposed the cartel, and were always 
ready to carry it out in both letter and spirit ; that the Federal 
authorities observed its terms only so long as it was to their 
interest to do so, and then repudiated their plighted faith and 
proposed other terms, which were greatly to the disadvantage 
of the Confederates ; that when the government at Richmond 
agreed to accept the hard terms of exchange offered them, 
these were at once repudiated by the Federal authorities ; that 
when Judge Ould agreed upon a new cartel with General 
Butler, Lieutenant-General Grant refused to approve it and 
Mr. Stanton repudiated it; and that the policy of the Federal 
government was to refuse all exchanges, while they 'fired the 
Northern heart' by placing the whole blame upon the 'rebels,' 
and by circulating the most heartrending stories of 'rebel 
barbarity ' to prisoners. 



THBEE YEARS OF CABNAOE. 355 

"If either of the above points has not been made clear to 
any sincere seeker after the truth, we would be most happy to 
produce further testimony. And we hold ourselves prepared 
to maintain against all comers the truth of every proposition we 
have laid down in this discussion. Let the calm verdict of his- 
tory decide between the Confederate government and their 
calumniators." 

We had proof-slips of the above summary made, and sent 
them to leading newspapers and magazines all through the 
North with the request that they w^ould, if they could, show 
the incorrectness of any point made or any statement given in 
the discussion. We have seen no serious attempt to refute 
any of the points made, and we still hold ourselves prepared to 
maintain them. 

In recent numbers of Belford's Magazine there are papers 
from Mr. Davis himself in which he ably and triumphantly 
vindicates himself and the Confederacy against the charge of 
cruelty to prisoners. 

We would not revive the bitter memories of the war and 
shall not go into the revolting details; but it is due to the truth 
of history that we should say that while Sherman's march 
through Georgia and the Carolinas was one prolonged scene 
of pillage, arson, and outrage which will continue a dark blot 
on the name of "The Great Bummer," and Sheridan's devasta- 
tion of the Shenandoah Valley, concerning which he boasted 
that he had made the country such a waste " that a crow flying 
over would be compelled to carry his own rations," is utterly 
indefensible — we can point with just pride to the beautiful 
order for the protection of private property which General Lee 
issued in Pennsylvania, and to the conduct of our ragged, 
starving " Boys in Gray " there, which excited the wonder and 
admiration of the w^orld. 

Professor Philip Stanhope Worsley, Fellow of Corpus Christi 
College, Oxford, England, in presenting to General R. E, Lee 
a copy of his "Translation of the Iliad of Homer," in Spen- 



356 \THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

cerian stanza, wrote on the fly-leaf of the volume the following 
inscription : 

"To General R. E. Lee — the most stainless of living com- 
manders, and, except in fortune, the greatest — this volume is 
presented with the writer's earnest sympathy and respectful 
admiration." 

"The grand old bard that never dies, 
Receive liim in our English tongue ! 
I send thee, but with weeping eyes, 
The story that he sung. 

" Thy Troy is fallen, thy dear land 

Is marred beneath the spoiler's heel. 
I cannot trust my trembling hand 
To write the things I feel. 

** Ah, realm of tombs ! But let her bear 
This blazon to the last of times : 
No nation rose so white and fair, 
Or fell so pure of crimes. 

" The widow's moan, the orphan's wail. 

Come round thee ; yet in truth be strong ! 
Eternal right, though all else fail, 
Can never be made wrong. 

" An angel's heart, an angel's mouth. 
Not Homer's, could alone for me 
Hymn well the great Confederate South, 
Virginia first, and Lee. P. S. W." 

In the beautiful letter which General Lee wrote in reply he 
very gracefully brings out that this was a tribute to the Con- 
federacy and not to him: 

"Lexington, Virginia, February 10,. 1866. 

''Mr. P. S. Worsley: 

"My Dear Sir — I have received the copy of your translation 
of the 'Iliad,' which you so kindly presented to me. Its 
perusal has been my evening's recreation, and I have never 
enjoyed the beauty and grandeur of the poem more tlian as 
recited by you. The translation is as truthful as powerful, 
and faithfully reproduces the imagery and rythm of the bold 
original. 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 357 

"The undeserved compliment to myself in prose and verse, 
on the first leaves of the volume, I receive as your tribute to 
the merit of my countrymen who struggled for constitutional 
government. 

" With great respect, your obedient servant, 

[Signed] R. E. Lee." 

Mr. Davis always repudiated very indignantly the insinua- 
tion that he ever violated the principle of "States' Rights," or 
did anything that could be construed into even a willingness 
to usurp power which the Confederate constitution did not 
give him. 

General W. T. Sherman made a statement to this effect, to 
which Mr. Davis made a reply so able and conclusive that we 
give it in full as printed in the Southern Historical Society 
Papers : 

PRESIDENT DAVIS IN REPLY TO GENERAL SHERMAN. 

[In our last issue, we noticed a slander which General W. T. 
Sherman was pleased to make against the ex-President of the 
Confederacy, and Mr. Davis's emphatic denial, and his chal- 
lenge of Sherman to produce the proof. 

The following letter, published in the Baltimore Sun, is not 
only an able and unanswerable reply to Sherman, but contains 
other matter which should have a place in our records, and be 
handed down for the use of the future historian. No wonder 
that General Sherman has throicn himself back on his dignity ( ? ! ), 
and declined to reply to this terrible but deserved excoriation.] 

Beauvoir, Mississippi, September 23, 1886. 

Colonel J. Thomas Schcrrf, Baltimore, Maryland : 

My Dear Sir — At various times and from many of my 
• friends, I have been asked to furnish a reply to General W. T. 
Sherman's so-called report to the War Department, and which 
the United States Senate ordered to be printed as " Ex. Doc. 
No. 36, Forty-eighth Congress, second session." I have been 
compelled by many causes to postpone my reply to these invi- 
tations, and have in some instances declined, for the time 
being, to undertake the labor. A continuing sense of the 
great injustice done to me, and to the people I represented, by 
the Senate's making the malicious assault of General Sherman 



358 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

a public document, and giving to his slander the importance 
which necessarily attaches to an executive communication to 
the Senate, has recently caused the request for a reply by me 
to be pressed with very great earnestness. For this reason I 
have decided to furnish my reply to you for publication in the 
Baltimore Sun. 

More than twenty years after the storm of war between the 
States had ceased and the waves of sectional strife had sunk to 
the condition of a calm, the public harmony was disturbed by 
a retired general of the army making a gratuitous and gross 
assault upon a private individual, living in absolute retirement, 
and who could only have attracted notice because he had been 
the representative of the Southern States, which, organized 
into a confederacy, had been a party to the war. 

The history of my public life bears evidence that I did all 
in my power to prevent the war; that I did nothing to precipi- 
tate collision ; that I did not seek the post of Chief Executive, 
but advised my friends that I preferred not to till it. That 
history General Sherman may slanderously assail by his state- 
ments, but he cannot alter its consistency ; nor can the Repub- 
licans of the Senate change its unbroken story of faithful 
service to the Union of the constitution until, by the command 
of my sovereign State, I Avithdrew as her ambassador from the 
United States Senate. For all the acts of my public life as 
President of the Confederate States I am responsible at the 
bar of history, and must accept her verdict, which I shall do 
without the least apprehension that it will be swayed from 
truth by the malicious- falsehoods of General Sherman, even 
when stamped as an " Ex. Doc." by the United States Senate. 

Before a gathering of ex-soldiers of the Union army. Gen- 
eral Sherman took occasion in the fall of 1884, to make accu- 
sations against me and to assert that he had personal means of 
information not possessed by others, and particularly that he 
had seen a letter written by myself, that he knew my hand- 
writing, and saw and identified my signature to the letter. The 
gravamen of his accusation was that the letter to which he 
referred " had passed between Jeff. Davis and a man whose 
name it would not do to mention, as he is now a member of the 
United States Senate," and that "in that letter he (I) said he 
would turn Lee's army against any State that might attempt 
to secede from the Southern Confederacy," The position of 
general of the United States army, which General Sherman 
had filled, demanded that immediate contradiction of that 
statement should be made, and to that end I published in the 
St. Louis Republican the following denial : 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. S59 

" BeauvoiR; Mississippi, November 6, 1884. 

" Editor St. Louis Republican : 

" Dear Sir — I have to-night received the enclosed pub- 
lished account of remarks made by General W. T. Sherman, 
and ask the use of your columns to notice only so much as par- 
ticularly refers to myself, and which is to be found in the fol- 
lowing extracts : 

" The following is taken from the St. Louis RepuUican : 

" ' Frank P. Blair Post, G. A, R., opened their new hall, cor- 
ner Seventeenth and Olive streets, last night. 

" ' General Sherman addressed the assemblage. He had read 
letters which he believed had never been published, and which 
very few people had seen. These letters showed the rebellion 
to be more than a mere secession — it was a conspiracy most 
dire. Letters which had passed between Jeff. Davis and a man 
whose name it would not do to mention, as he is now a mem- 
ber of the United States Senate, had been seen by the speaker 
and showed Davis's position. He was not a secessionist. His 
object in starting the rebellion was not merely for the secession 
of the South, but to have this section of the country so that 
he could use it as a fulcrum from which to fire out his shot 
at the other sections of the country and compel the people to 
do as he would have them. Jeff. Davis would have turned his 
hand against any State that would secede from the South after 
the South had seceded from the North. Had the rebellion suc- 
ceeded, General Sherman said, the people of the North would 
have all been slaves.' 

*' The following is from the Globe-Democrat'' s report : 

" ' Referring to the late war, he said it was not, as was gene- 
rally understood, a war of secession from the United States, 
but a conspiracy. * I have been behind the curtain,' said he, 
' and I have seen letters that few others have seen, and have 
heard conversations that cannot be repeated, and I tell you 
that Jeff. Davis never was a secessionist. He was a conspira- 
tor. He did not care for separation from the United States. 
His object was to get a fulcrum from which to operate against 
the United States, and if he had succeeded he would to-day be 
the master spirit of the continent and you would be slaves. 
I have seen a letter from Jefferson Davis to a man whose name 
I cannot mention, because he is a United States Senator. I 
know Davis's writing and saw his signature, and in that letter 



360 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

he said he would turn Lee's army against any State that might 
attempt to secede from the Southern Confederacy.' 

" This public assault, under the covert plea that it is based 
upon evidence which regard for a United States Senator does 
not permit him to present, will, to honorable minds, suggest 
the idea of irresponsible slander. 

" It is thus devolved upon me to say that the allegation of 
my ever having written such a letter as is described is unquali- 
fiedly false, and the assertion that I had any purpose or wish 
to destroy the liberty and equal rights of any State, either 
North or South, is a reckless, shameless falsehood, especially 
because it was generally known that for many years before, as 
well as during the war between the States, I was an earnest 
advocate of the strict construction State-rights theory of Mr. 
Jefferson. What motive other than personal malignity can be 
conceived for so gross a libel? 

" If General Sherman has access to any letters purporting to 
have been written by me which will sustain his accusations, 
let him produce them, or wear the brand of a base slanderer. 
" Yours respectfully, 

"Jefferson Davis." 

The publication of the above letter attracted very general 
notice, and two interviews were had with General Sherman by 
reporters of the Globe-Democrat and from the St. Louis Chronicle. 
In the Globe-Democrat of November 25, 1884, General Sherman 
is reported as having said : " Whatever explanation I make will 
be made over my own signature. I do not propose to get into 
a fight with Jeff. Davis. * * When a man makes a news- 
paper statement he is never sure of being quoted correctly, but 
when he makes a statement in his own handwriting, he is sure 
of being placed in the right place." 

The St. Louis Chronicle of November 24, 1884, reports Gene- 
ral Sherman as saying : " This is an affair between two gentle- 
men. I will take my time about it and write to Mr. Davis 
himself. We will settle the matter between us." When asked 
by the reporter, " Have the papers misrepresented you in your 
remarks before the Frank Blair Post, G. A. R.?" he replied: 
" I say nothing about that. My reply to Mr. Davis will not 
be through the newspapers. They are not the arbiters of this 
question, nor the go-between for any dispute. I have nothing 
more to say." 

It is hardly necessary for me to say that General Sherman 
did not write to me, and we have not settled the matter between 
us otherwise than as I settled it by denouncing his statement 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 361 

as false and himself as a slanderer. There the matter would 
have rested so far as I was concerned, and anything that Sher- 
man, on his own responsibility, might have afterwards said 
would have been treated by me with that silence which 
the mendacious utterings of an irresponsible slanderer deserved. 
But when the War Department of the United States was made 
the custodian of his slander, and the Republican Senators 
became its endorsers, and the statements made at the Frank 
Blair Post were lifted into official importance, it became a 
duty alike to myself and to the people I represented, to follow 
the slanders with my denial, and to expose alike its author 
and his endorsers. 

The United States Senate, by resolution offered by Senator 
Hawley, and debated during January 12 and 13, 1885, called 
upon the President of the United States " to communicate to 
the Senate a historical statement concerning the public policy 
of the executive department of the Confederate States during 
the late war of the rebellion, reported to have been lately filed 
in the War Department by General William T. Sherman." It 
was by means of that resolution that the slander was revived, 
and its utterer enabled to mould together a pretended founda- 
tion for his baseless utterance at the Frank Blair Post. While 
the matter was fresh in the memory and under the searching 
inquiry of the newspaper reporters, General Sherman repre- 
sented that he could not consistently give the name of the 
Senator to whom he said the letter had been written, and after 
every Senator from the Southern States had denied receiving 
any such letter, and many of them had expressed their belief 
that no such letter ever had been in existence, he failed to sus- 
tain his assertion by the production of proof of the existence 
of a letter from me such as he had alleged he had seen. After 
such full denial both by myself, the reputed writer, and by 
every Senator who could have been the receiver of that pre- 
tended letter, the Senate offered an opportunity to General 
Sherman to unload his slander deposited in the War Depart- 
ment, and to spread the vile mass on the files of the United 
States Senate. 

In the interval between the meeting at the Frank Blair Post 
in November, 1884, and January 6, 1885, Dr. H. C. Robbins, of 
Cresson, Ogle county, Illinois, loaned Sherman a letter which 
he said had been written by the late Alexander H. Stephens to 
the late Herschel V. Johnson, both now dead. Sherman being 
unable to verify his authority for the assertion made by him at 
the Frank Blair Post, this Stephens-Johnson letter was to be 
substituted for the Davis letter, which, with the circumstan- 



362 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

tiality needful to one having little credibility, Sherman said he 
had seen, knew to be mine from his acquaintance with my 
handwriting, and appended to which he identified my signature. 

In view of the peremptory demand made for the letter, and 
in the absence of any answer as to where or when or in whose 
possession it was seen, a gentleman might hesitate to decide 
whether subterfuge were more paltry or absurd. 

The next attempt at deception was to represent the war 
records in confusion, but this device failed as signally as had 
the other misrepresentations of General Sherman. On the 
12th of December, five days after the publication of his cer- 
tificate, the following press telegram swept that subterfuge 
away from him : 

"Washington, D. C, December 12. 
" The statement that the rebellion archives, now in the War 
Department, are in confusion, and that if the Davis letter, to 
which General Sherman has referred, were there, it would take 
much time, and involve great search to find it, is erronous. The 
archives have all been gone over thoroughly in the preparation 
of the War Records in progress of publication, and persons in 
charge of the archives, and who have a knowledge of their con- 
tents, say that no such letter as that spoken of by General 
Sherman is now there, or has ever been there." 

It is apparent, then, that Sherman never saw any such letter 
of mine as that which he said he had read and identified by 
my signature, and that the Stephens-Johnson letter was 
acquired after the speech had been made, and was seized upon 
to create a pretext upon which he could excuse his falsehood. 
The conclusive proof which had come to light by denials from 
Senators of having received from me any such letter, and by 
their denying that they had ever heard any such opinions 
expressed by me, placed Sherman in a dilemma from which 
to advance involved further falsehood, and from which retreat 
was only possible with humiliation and disgrace. He selected 
the easier course, and went forward with falsehood attending 
every step. In his.letter to the War Department, of January 
6, 1885, he says he found my letter at Raleigh, North Carolina, 
saying: 

" Among the books collected at the capitol in Raleigh Avas a 
clerk's or secretary's copy-book, containing loose sheets and 
letters, among which was the particular letter of Mr. Davis to 
Avhich I referred in my St. Louis speech, and notwithstanding," 
he said, " I gave it little attention at the time," yet he claimed 
twenty odd years after that he could recall its exj^ressions and 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. . 363 

repeat its purport. He said that the Stephens-Johnson letter 
was the letter, and here's " the original,^^ but he reported to the 
War Department that " the particular letter of Mr. Davis" was 
found by him in Ealeigh. 

Senator Vance, upon hearing of the alleged Raleigh letter, 
promptly denied all knowledge of it, and wrote to the Washing- 
ton Post, under date of December 13, 1885, that : 

"Every letter ever Avritten to me on a political topic by 
President Davis is to be found faithfully copied on the ofhcial 
letter-books of the executive department of North Carolina. 
Those letter-books were taken from me by General Sherman's 
troops at the closing of the war, and are now in possession 
of the War Department in this city. Aside from the letter- 
books. General Sherman never saw any letter addressed to 
me by President Davis. Although I have not seen those books 
and read their contents in almost twenty years, I am quite 
sure that no such letter can be found there. I could not have 
forgotten such a letter had it been received by me. The sug- 
gestion, therefore, that I am the person referred to in General 
Sherman's statement is entirely untrue. The attempt of some 
newspapers to give probability to this suggestion, by alleging 
that I was in bitter hostility whilst Governor of North Caro- 
lina to the administration of Mr. Davis, is based also upon a 
misrepresentation of the facts." 

Senator Vance at the same time sent to the Washington 
Post a copy of my letter to him of date November 1, 1862, 
which he said " contains no such expression as a threat against 
States attempting to secede from the Confederacy, but does 
contain this expression ; ' I feel grateful to you for the cordial 
manner in which you have sustained every proposition con- 
n(?cted with the public defence.' This much is due to truth. 
I do not wish to pose as a martyr to the circumstances of those 
times, or as one ready to turn upon his associates after df^feat. 
I desire to take my full share of responsibility for anything I 
did and said during those unhappy times. 

" Great as were the abilities, and high as were the courage 
and faithfulness of Mr. Davis, I have no disposition to load 
him with all the misfortunes of defeat." 

Before the publication of the above letter from Senator 
Vance in the Washington Post, interviews with Senator Vance 
had developed the fact that a correspondence had taken place 
during the war between Governor Vance and myself, and at 
that General Sherman also grasped as the foundation for his 
Blander. A St. Louis Republican reporter on the 15th of Decem- 
ber, 1884, asked General Sherman " Was Senator Vance, the 



364 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Senator referred to in your speech at the opening of the new 
headquarters of the Frank Blair Post?" "Well, sir," said 
General Sherman, very slowly, " I won't say that he wasn't," 

My alleged Raleigh letter has never been found. Sherman 
says it was sent to Nashville, Savannah, Washington and St. 
Louis, and may have been finally burned in Chicago in the 
great fire in 1871. But in all its travels no other person but 
Sherman saw it ; not a single officer at any headquarters has 
been produced v^ho read it, and it passes belief that in the 
excitement of the closing days of the- war, and during my 
imprisonment, when every letter of mine was carefully ex- 
amined to find evidence upon which to convict and destroy me, 
that not an officer at all those headquarters should have read 
that letter. Every fair-minded man must therefore conclude 
that General Sherman stated at the Grand Army Post a willful 
and deliberate falsehood, and that his motive had its inspira- 
tion in that mean malice which has characterized his acts and 
writings in other respects towards the Southern people. 

A man so lost to every sense of truth deserved to receive the 
contempt of every one who values veracity, but Senator Hawley, 
in offering the resolution above quoted, said : " Personally, 
however, he did not hesitate to say that in a controversy be- 
tween Jefferson Davis and General Sherman he (Mr. Hawley) 
was on General Sherman's side all the time." High qualifi- 
cation that for an United States Senator, who may sit a judge 
in the Court of Impeachment, the highest tribunal of the land. 

I leave Mr. Hawley by General Sherman's side, with no de- 
sire whatever to have either one or the other on my side. Sena- 
tor Conger denied my equal citizenship wdth Sherman until 
" something " is done by me ; if that " something " to be done 
is to take such part as that filled by Sherman and his indorsers 
on this occasion, the described inequality must ever remain. 
Another Senator (Ingalls) evinced very great indignation be- 
cause " the Democratic party had in debate in the Senate taken 
sides with Jefferson Davis," and that " they had always in- 
dorsed him, always approved his course, and had declared that 
there was nothing wrong in his record that would convince 
posterity that he was not a man of honor and a patriot," and 
that " the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Morgan) and the Sena- 
tor from Missouri (Mr. Vest) had taken occasion to inform the 
Senate that there were millions of people in the United States 
to-day who loved Jefferson Davis, and to whom Jefferson Davis 
was endeared by the memory of common hardships, common 
privations and common calamities." It is not surprising that 
such expressions of confidence and regard should have been 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 365 

drawn out in a debate upon a resolution which had for its pur- 
pose the endorsement by the Senate of a mean slander, which 
was known to be unfounded in truth, and important only as 
covering with the mantle of the Senate the mendacity of a 
retired general of the army. 

The Senate having given vitality to Sherman's slander, a full 
reply to the opinions and expressions therein is made, so that 
hereafter it may derive no credit even from its official char- 
acter. 

The so-called "historical statement concerning the public 
policy of the executive department of the Confederate States," 
as Sherman's letter to the War Department is headed in that 
"Ex. Doc," opens with the following statement: "That I 
(Sherman) had seen papers which convinced me that even Mr. 
Davis, the President of the Southern Confederacy, had, during 
the progress of the war, changed his State-rights doctrines, and 
had threatened to use force — even Lee's army — should any 
State of the Confederacy attempt to secede from that govern- 
ment." With the mental process by which General Sherman 
is " convinced," I have no concern, but the " papers " in which 
he alleged that I "threatened" to use force against the States 
of the Confederacy, ought to be tangible and producible, and 
in an " historical statement," the Senate ought to have demanded 
the production of the proofs, and on the failure to produce 
them, and after denial by Senators who Sherman alleged 
had received them, such an "historical statement," already 
branded with falsehood and unsupported by evidence, ought to 
have been rejected with only wonder how it got before the 
Senate. 

In the absence of all authority for the statement, or of any 
creditable witness, General Sherman asserts that I abandoned 
my State-rights doctrine, the unsupported assertion of a man 
whose reputation for veracity is not good, and who could have 
had no personal knowledge, must weigh light as a feather 
against all the testimony of my official life, as well as against 
the recollections of all those most intimately connected with 
me, not a few of whom criticised my strict adherence to the 
constitution and laws. His reiteration, even " a thousand 
times," will fail to convince any reasonable man that he did 
not know he never had seen any " papers " written by me threat- 
ening to use the army against any State of the Confederacy. 

In this connection, I may refer to my action when Kentucky 
was invaded by the United States army and her people pre- 
vented by military power from acting for themselves on the 
question of secession. My personal friend and family physi- 



366 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

cian, Dr. A. Y. P. Garnett, of Washington city, in a letter of 
the 17th of January last, recalls to my memory the application 
of himself and other friends to me to send militar}'' aid into 
Kentucky, there to support the friends of the Southern States. 
My letter of January 22d to Dr. Garnett, explains the princi- 
ples that guided me on that occasion. In that letter I said : 

" Yours of the 17th instant has this day been received and 
to your inquiry I reply that, though it is not in my power to 
recite the language employed in response to you and others 
who urged me to send Confederate troops into Kentucky to pre- 
vent the Federal government from intimidating the legislature 
and people of that State by a military occupation, and thus 
to prevent Kentucky from passing an ordinance of secession, I 
do well remember that to you, as to others, I answered substan- 
tially that I would not do such violence to the rights of the 
State. No one could have felt a deeper interest or more affec- 
tionate regard for Kentucky than I did, and it may well be that 
I did not believe the people of Kentucky, the State especially 
distinguished in the early period of her history for the asser- 
tion of State rights and State remedies, could he driven from 
the maintenance of a creed which had ever been her point of 
pride. 

*' My answer, as correctly stated by you, shows that my decis- 
ion was not based on expediency, and however reluctant I may 
have been to reject the advice of yourself and other friends, in 
Avhose judgment and sincerity I had implicit confidence, I 
would not for all the considerations involved, disregard the 
limitations of our constitution and violate the cardinal prin- 
ciple which had been the guiding star of my political life." 

The use made by General Sherman of an extract from a 
"Southern paper" as evidence that I encouraged expressions 
of hostility to State sovereignty, and was thus preparing to sub- 
vert the very Confederacy of which I was President, has drawn 
forth from Mr. Nat. Tyler, the surviving editor of the Rich- 
mond (Va.) Enquirer, the following letter: 

" Washington, D. C, January 15, 1885. 

'' Hon. Jefferson Davis : 

" Dear Sir — My attention has been called to an extract 
from the Richmond Enquirer, which has been incorporated by 
General W. T. Sherman in his letter of January 6, 1885, to the 
Secretary of War, and I have been asked if that extract is genu- 
ine. I have no means at hand of ascertaining whether or not the 
extract is from the Enquirer; but after carefully reading it, I am 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. ■ 367 

disposed to regard it as genuine. It truthfully represents the 
views of the editorial management of the Enquirer at that time. 
I witnessed the extraordinary efforts which the United States 
authorities were making for our conquest and subjugation, and 
I considered it to be the duty of our people to make like sacri- 
fices for safety and liberty. The ' convention ' referred to in 
the extract was the convention proposed in North Carolina in 
the early part of 1864, in the contest for governor, between Mr. 
Holden and Governor Vance, and which had for its object to 
give opportunity of action to the incipient treason which was 
rife in that State under the leadership of Mr. Holden. The 
article from the Enquirer was intended to support Governor 
Vance and the Confederate cause, which the management of 
the paper regarded as paramount to all other considerations. 
I did not presume to speak for you or your administration, but 
to utter what I believed every true Confederate to hold — that 
the public defense demanded the exercise of every energy, and 
that all that hindered that defense should be swept away and 
remitted to more peaceful occasions. 

" The Enquirer is the ' public journal ' to which Mr. Stephens 
referred in his letter to Hon. H. V. Johnson, and which he rep- 
resents as the 'organ ' of your administration. I very distinctly 
remember his coming to the office and lecturing the editors on 
their support of the measures for the public defense; but, as 
his views were visionary and impracticable, his temper excited, 
and his influence under a cloud, w^e gave to his person all re- 
spect and to his advice the least attention that was possible. 
He was a good man and a true and zealous Confederate, but his 
'balance' was decidedly out of plumb in the last year of the 
war, and in politics he wabbled w^henever he discussed public 
affairs. I have always believed if you had assumed ' absolute 
power,' shot deserters and hung traitors, seized supplies and 
larought to the front every man capable of bearing arms, that 
a different result of the war might have been obtained. But 
your very sensitive respect for constitution and law, for the 
rights and sovereignties of States, is attested by the fact that 
the wildest license was allowed to the press, and that, right 
under your nose, to use Mr. Stephens's expression, the Examiner 
daily expressed sentiments of opposition to your measures, 
which, if any newspaper in the United States had dared to 
publish against Mr. Lincoln's recommendations, its editor 
would have been promptly imprisoned. By any comparison 
that can be made between your administration and that of 
President Lincoln, history will award to you far more respect 
for the essential features of personal liberty, for deference paid 



368 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

to State authority, and for respect shown for constitutional 
restraint. 

" With the best wishes for your continued good health, I am, 
dear sir, your sincere friend, 

" Nat. Tyler." 

It is apparent that this so-called " historical statement " had 
been seen by Republican Senators, and that they were not 
ignorant of its real character when the Hawley resolution was 
under discussion in the Senate. Those Senators then knew 
that General Sherman had, in his letter of January 6, 1885, to 
the Secretary of War, changed the issue between us from one 
of veracity to a rambling, shuffling discussion of a "conspi- 
racy" and of " conspirators " in the winter of 1860-'61, and that 
which at the Frank Blair Post may have been "a white lie," not 
intended for publication, came before the Senate as an " his- 
torical statement," bolstered with other falsehoods equally with- 
out foundation or support in anything written or uttered by 
me. It now survives as an " Ex. Doc." of picturesque prevari- 
cation. 

I know nothing of any "conspiracy" or of any "conspira- 
tors." There was no secrecy about any of the political affairs 
which led to the secession of the States in 1860-'61. There 
was no possibility of any concealment. The people were ad- 
vised by the press, they acted knowingly, and the results, 
through all their various phases, were necessarily known to the 
people, by whom they were ratified and confirmed. To talk 
now of conspiracy and conspirators is shallow nonsense, and 
notwithstanding Sherman says that he " was approached by a 
number of the Knights of the Golden Circle," that accusation 
will be dismissed as the coinage of political demagogues. If 
Sherman was approached by " conspirators " they knew their 
man ; they may have heard of his conversation at Vicksburg, 
his expressions of approval of Southern action, his talk of the 
" d — d Yankees " to Governor Roper, and such expressions, and 
may have regarded him as a fit conspirator with themselves. 
No man ever insulted me by approaching me with suggestions 
of conspiracy. 

As to the action taken at the conference of some of the 
Southern Senators in January, 1861, and which is introduced 
in this " historical statement" as evidence of a "conspiracy," 
it is only necessary to say to those Senators who, in the debate 
on the Hawley resolution, referred to the letter of D. L. Yulee 
to Joseph Finnegan, and the resolutions attached thereto, that 
the resolutions were forwarded to the conventions of the States 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 369 

then in session, and that they were the resolutions of Senators 
representing those States conveying to the conventions of the 
States the views of the Senators. Those resolutions were not 
discovered by General Sherman ; they were not dug up from 
beneath the sod in any yard through which he marched. They 
were necessarily public since they were sent to conventions of 
the States, and they were printed in the newspapers. To speak 
of such action as a conspiracy, as Senator Sherman did in the 
debate on the Hawley resolution, shows to what defense he was 
driven to assist his brother out of the mire of mendacity in 
which he was floundering. 

It was the opinion of that conference, in 1861, that secession 
was the only remedy left to the States ; that every efl:"ort to 
preserve peace had failed, mainly through the action of thf t 
portion of the Republican party which refused all propositions 
for adjustment made by those who sought, in January, 1861, to 
justify confidence, insure peace, and preserve the Union. In 
the same month in which that conference was held, I served on 
a committee raised by the Senate to seek some possible mode 
of quelling the excitement that then existed. That committee 
was composed of the three political divisions of the Senate, 
and it was considered useless to report any measure which did 
not receive the concurrence of at least a majority of each divi- 
sion. The Republican Senators rejected every proposition that 
promised pacification, and the committee reported to the Sen- 
ate that their consultation was a failure. Was there less con- 
spiracy in the Republican senators combining to prevent paci- 
fication than there was in Southern Senators uniting in confer- 
ence to advise the conventions of their States that their cause 
was hopeless in Washington? Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, assailed 
the Republican side of the Senate for their refusal to accept 
any terms that were oifered to them, and demanded to know 
what they proposed to do, and in that connection referred to 
Senator Toombs and myself as having been willing to accept 
the line of 36° 30', or the Missouri compromise, and that the 
Republican Senators rejected the proposition. Which were the 
conspirators, the Senators who offered the Missouri compromise 
for the sake of peace, or the Senators who rejected that offering 
in order to enjoy "a little blood-letting?" The venerable Senator 
Crittenden, of the committee, used all his power and influence 
on the side of the peaceful efforts of the Southern Senators, and 
not unfrequently expressed himself in the most decided terms 
as to the conduct of the opposition. Party necessity may attri- 
bute the actions of the Southern Senators to conspiracy, but his- 
tory will treat the actors of those days as they deserve, and to 
24 



370 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

her verdict, in common with my compatriots in that trying 
hour, the issue is referred. 

The epithets which Senator Sherman in the debate applied 
to myself, are his mode of retaliation for my denunciation of 
his brother. I have been compelled to prove General Sherman 
to be a falsifier and a slanderer in order to protect my charac- 
ter and reputation from his willful and unscrupulous menda- 
city. If his brother, the Senator, felt the sting of that expo- 
sure, and his epithets are any relief, I am content that he shall 
go on the record as denouncing me as a " traitor" because I have 
proved his brother to be a liar. 

As the Republican party renounced the issue of treason when 
it abandoned my trial in 1867, not at my instance, but in face 
of my defiance, its leaders of the present day but stultify them- 
selves in the cry of traitor which they raise at the mention of 
my name. This is more a matter of traffic than of argument, but 
as it serves to keep alive the issues and prejudices of the war 
period, it is a device which, as politicians, they may not like 
to abandon. It is not surprising that the politicians of a party 
which, in the mad fury of its passions, deliberately hung a 
harmless and helpless woman, should continue to keep warm 
their malice against an old soldier, and long a civil official, by 
the frequent use of epithets. If it atfords them any relief, it 
costs me so little concern that it would be uncharitable to deny 
them the enjoyment they take in hurling epithets at me, a 
game in which any fishwoman might successfully compete. 

The Senate, when about to give its sanction to General Sher- 
man's " historical statement," ought, in fairness, to have de- 
manded of him the production of the verifying letters, papers, 
and information within his knowledge or possession. He says 
in that "Ex. Doc": "But of him (myself) I have personal 
knowledge, not meant for publication, but to become a part of 
the ' Traditions of the Civil War,' which the Grand Army of 
the Republic Avill preserve.' What fair and honorable purpose 
could the Senate have had in sanctioning such a base and in- 
famous inuendo, as that above quoted from page 3 of the "Ex. 
Doc"? If that "personal knowledge" is withheld from publi- 
cation for the purposes of future slanders, surely the Senate 
ought not to have made itself a party to that malice which 
hides its slanders until their subject shall have passed away, 
and contradiction and exposure become difficult, if not impos- 
sible. But I am not apprehensive of Sherman's additions to 
the "Traditions of the Civil War ;" he stands pilloried before 
the public and all future history as an imbecile scold or an in- 
famous slanderer — as either, he is harmless. 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 371 

The statement on page 3, that a box containing private 
papers of mine was found at the house of my brother, Joseph 
E. Davis, is untrue. The error in the place where a box was 
seized by his pillagers would not have been material if made 
by a truthful man, but when an habitual falsifier falls into 
even a slight error of locality, it is not surprising that he 
should be suspected of having intentionally fixed upon my 
brother's residence to give point and probability to some other 
falsehood. The box of papers was found at a farmer's house 
several miles away from my brother's and the box did not con- 
tain a single letter written to me or by me at Montgomery. There- 
fore Sherman's statement that he abstracted from that box 
three letters which had been written to me by loyal officers of 
the United States army, and returned to the writers to protect 
them from the suspicion of complicity with the government 
of Montgomery, can have no other foundation in truth than, 
probably, the discovery of letters written at former times and 
received by me before the inauguration of the Confederate 
government at Montgomery. 

It is due to the memory of the late Alexander H. Stephens, 
whose letter to Herschel V. Johnson has been made the founda- 
tion for this vile assault upon myself, to say, that if the letter 
is genuine, and has not been altered to serve Sherman's malice 
against myself, that it was written under excitement and when 
disappointment and apprehension of our overthrow had influ- 
enced his judgment and opinion, and that this private letter, 
written under its attending circumstances, never intended for 
publication, and expressing hasty opinions, will not be allowed 
to cast its shadow over the carefully prepared history of the 
war which Mr. Stephens has left to inform posterity of his 
views of public men and measures. I will be pardoned for 
extracting from Mr. Stephens's "War between the States" 
remarks complimentary to myself, since they completely refute 
the purpose for which the Johnson letter has been produced. 
In Volume II, page 624-5, commenting upon the meeting at the 
African church, in Richmond after the unsuccessful effort for 
peace in Hampton Roads, Mr. Stephens says : 

" Many who had heard this master of oratory in his most 
brilliant displays in the Senate and on the hustings said they 
never before saw Mr. Davis so really majestic ! The occasion 
and the effects of the speech, as well as all the circumstances 
under which it was made, caused the minds of not a few to 
revert to appeals by Rienzi and Demosthenes. 

" However much I admired the heroism of the sentiment ex- 
pressed, yet in his general views or policy to be pursued in the 



372 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

then situation I could not concur. I doubt not that all — the 
President, the Cabinet and Congress — did the very best they coidd, 
from their own convictions of what was best to be done at the 
time." 

In the same volume, on page 657, Mr. Stephens speaks of me 
as a man " of very strong convictions and great earnestness of 
purpose." In a conversation had during the summer of 1863, 
which was reduced to writing at the time, Mr. Stephens said : 
" The hardships growing out of our military arrangements are 
not the fault of the President ; * * * they are due to his sub- 
ordinates." 

In October of the same year, (" Life of A. H. Stephens," by 
Johnson & Browne, pages 445-47,) he wrote to a friend who had 
asked what would be his probable course in the event of the 
death of myself, as follows : 

"I should regard the death of the President as the greatest 
fosbible 'public calamity. "What I should do I know not. A large 
number of prominent and active men in the country * * 
would distrust my ability to conduct affairs successfully. They 
have now, and would have, no confidence in my judgment or ca- 
pacity for the position that such an untimely misfortune would 
cast upon me." 

These passages (and others might be selected from the writ- 
ings of Mr. Stephens since the war) bear voluntary and invol- 
untary testimony to my character and motives, and more than 
answer the complaints contained in the letter to Mr. H. V. 
Johnson, and in the canvass just preceding his death. Mr. 
Stephens said that the only difference between us during the 
war was as to the policy of shipping the cotton crop of 1861 to 
Europe. That criticism, when made by another, was fully an- 
swered by Mr. Trenholm and Mr. Memminger, the two secreta- 
ries of the Confederate States treasury, in which they very 
clearly showed that the cotton crop of 1861 had been mainly 
exported before the Confederate government was formed, and 
that if reference was made to any later crop, the Confederacy 
had no ships in which to export it, and the blockade prevented, 
to a great extent, foreign ships from taking the cotton out. 

The "secret message" which is printed in this "historical state- 
ment" was communicated to the Confederate States Congress, 
and recommended the suspension of ihe Vtrii oi habeas corpus. 
The reasons for that recommendation are fully set forth in the 
message. It was an application to Congress for authority to 
suspend the writ, and it was within the constitutional power of 
Congress to grant the authority. It was a measure of public 
defense against schemes and plots of enemies which could not 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 373 

bf! reached under the process of law. On two occasions was 
that extraordinary remedy resorted to, and each was by author- 
ity of Congress. But even when the writ was suspended, no 
head of any cabinet department kept a "little bell," the tinkle 
of which consigned to prison men like Teackle Wallis, George 
William Brown, John Merryman, Charles Howard, Judge Car- 
michael dragged off the bench, and which became as fearful to 
the people as the letters-de cachet of the tyrants of Paris. Mar- 
tial law followed the armies of the United States, and provost 
marshals were often the judges that passed upon the person and 
property of ladies, children and old men, and the venerable 
Chief Justice Taney was not spared the humiliation of seeing 
even the Supreme Court of the United States brought to under- 
stand that the civil had become subordinate to the military 
authority. 

The conscript \aw in the Confederate States, and the draft in 
the United States, were measures adopted by the respective 
Congresses, and not acts of either Mr. Lincoln or myself. They 
were both measures of public defense, intended to equalize the 
burden of military duty, as far as it was compatible with the 
public defense. As well might we leave revenue to be provided 
by voluntary contribution, instead of by general taxation, or the 
roads to be worked by the willing and industrious, instead of 
distributing the burden equitably over the whole people. Yet 
the Senators that callea for this "historical statement" will 
hardly hold that President Lincoln was seeking a dictatorship 
because he enforced the draft. 

This " historical statement " might nave been enlarged and 
extended by the Senate, and made to embrace the deliberate 
misrepresentation by General Sherman of the communication 
to him by Colonel J. D. Stevenson, in regard to Albert Sidney 
Johnston's command in San Francisco. In a letter to Colonel 
William H. Knight, of Cincinnati, Ohio, dated October 28, 
1884, General Sherman asserted that " Colonel J. D. Stevenson, 
now living in San Francisco, has often told me that he had 
cautioned the government as to a plot or conspiracy, through 
the department commander, Albert Sidney Johnston, to deliver 
possession of the forts, etc., to men in California sympathizing 
with the rebels in the South, and he thinks it was by his advice 
that the President (Lincoln) sent General E.V.Sumner to 
relieve Johnston of his command before the conspiracy was 
consummated." That statement of Sherman, the veteran 
Colonel J. D. Stevenson promptly and emphatically denied, say- 
ing: "The history of this matter was published fully and in 
detail in the San Francisco Evening Post in its issue of October 



S74 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

9, 1880. What reports General Keyes may have made to the 
aathorities at Washington, I do not know ; but that the removal 
cf General Johnston was the means of preventing a Pacitic 
republic, I do not for an instant believe; for neither at the 
time of General Sumner's taking command and relieving Gen- 
eral Johnston, nor at any time afterward, do I believe any 
uprising or conspiracy was contemplated." Colonel Stevenson 
adds that General Sumner held General Albert Sidney John- 
ston to be " a soldier, a gentleman and an honorable man ; he is 
incapable of betraying a trust." That slander against General 
Albert Sidney Johnston was as equally unnecessary and as 
uncalled for as the w^holly gratuitous assault upon myself. 

General Grant himself has not been exempt from Sherman's 
malice. To Colonel Scott, Sherman wrote, " if C. J. Smith had 
lived Grant would have disappeared to history." This remark- 
able statement was published by General Fry and pointedly 
and emphatically denied by General Sherman. Prompt to 
slander, he is equally quick to deny his language. The letter 
of Sherman dated September 6, 1883, Avas written to Colonel 
Scott, now of the War Record office. The denial of Sherman 
has caused the publication of the letter and exposure of his 
hypocrisy in recent laudation of the dead chieftain. 

The deliberate falsehood which Sherman inserted in his 
official report, that Columbia, South Carolina, had been burned 
by General Wade Hampton, was afterwards confessed in his 
" Memoirs " to have been " distinctly charged on General Wade 
Hampton to shake the faith of his people in him." Even when 
confessing one falsehood he deliberately coined another, and 
on the same page of his " Memoirs " said that the fire " was 
accidental," when he knew from the letter of General Stone, 
who commanded the provost guard in Columbia, that the fire 
was not accidental. How much more he knew, he may in 
future " Memoirs" or " statements" reveal. 

Can any man imagine less moral character, less conception 
of truth, less regard for what an official report should contain, 
than is shown by Sherman deliberately concocting a falsehood 
for the dishonorable purpose of shaking the faith of the peo- 
ple of South Carolina in their fellow-citizen, General Wade 
Hampton ? His election to be governor of that State by the 
votes of a larger majority of her people of every race than was 
ever polled before or since ; his elevation to the Senate of the 
United States, and the respect, admiration, and regard which 
is shown to him, must be particularly vexing to the Shermans, 
and may have suggested to the general to " hedge " in his 
" Memoirs " and confess his wrong-doing. Such an act of pen- 



THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 375 

ance, if it brought true and genuine repentance, would have 
protected the memory of Albert Sidney Johnston, the fame 
of General Grant, and my own reputation from the slanders 
which called forth this exposure. It would also have prevented 
the United States Senate from having indorsed a falsehood, 
which is liable to be confessed when another volume of " Me- 
moirs " shall be prepared. 

I have in this vindication, not of myself only, but also of the 
people who honored me with the highest official position in 
their gift, been compelled to group together instances of re- 
peated falsehoods deliberately spoken and written by General 
Sherman — the I^lair Post slander of myself, the defamation of 
the character of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the dispar- 
agement of the military fame of General Grant, and the shame- 
ful and corrupt charge against General Hampton. I have 
prepared this examination and exposure only because the Sen- 
ate of the United States has given to Sherman's slander an 
indorsement which gives it whatever claims it may have to 
attention and of power to mislead in the future. Having spe- 
cifically stamped the statement as false, having proved its 
author to be an habitual slanderer, and not having a partisan sec- 
retary to make a place for this notice of a personal tirade, which 
was neither an official report nor record made during the war, 
so as to entitle it to be received at the office of archives, I sub- 
mit it to the public through the columns of a newspaper which 
discountenances foul play and misrepresentation, and which 
was kind and just to me in saying in its issue of January 14, 
1885 : 

" The Sherman statement was altogether one-sided ; Mr. 
Davis had yet to be heard from, and for the Republicans of the 
Senate to force a snap judgment upon the Sherman statement 
without hearing what Mr. Davis had to say about it, smacks 
more of the political partisan than of the fair-minded adver- 
sai;y." The public, through The Sun, has this, my reply, and 
can dispense its " even-handed justice " with full knowledge of 
the facts. 

Very sincereiy yours, 

Jefferson Davis* 



XVL 

CLOSE OF THE WAR— CAPTURE AND 
IMPRISONMENT. 

. It is useless to speculate now as to how near the Confed- 
eracy came to success, and why it did not succeed. 

There are those who believe that if the routed " grand army " 
at first Manassas had been vigorously pursued — as Mr. Davis 
was anxious should be done — we would have easily captured 
Washington and ended the war by that brilliant campaign. 

Stonewall Jackson always believed this, and it is said that 
while his wound was being dressed on that day he threw aside 
the surgeons, when seeing the President approaching with 
Generals Johnston and Beauregard, and tossing liis old cadet 
cap in the air, enthusiastically exclaimed : " Here comes the 
President ! Hurrah for the President ! ! Give me ten thousand 
men and Pll be in Washington to-night!!!" 

Some of the ablest of our military critics believe — General 
Lee himself died believing and Mr. Davis always firmly 
believed — that if Lee's orders had been obeyed at Gettysburg 
the Army of Northern Virginia would have won a decisive 
victory, the Army of the Potomac would have been routed, 
Baltimore and Washington (if not Philadelphia and New York) 
would have been captured, and the independence of the Con- 
federacy established. 

Under the caption of " Within a Stone's Throw of Indepen- 
dence at Gettysburg" there was published in the Southern His- 
torical Society Papers sua. article from a member of the British 

(376) 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 377 

Parliament, in which he said that not long before the battle of 
Gettysburg, Disraeli had determined to introduce resolutions 
acknowledging the Southern Confederacy — that he had tho-- 
roughly prepared himself for a great speech on the subject — 
and that the whole matter had been canvassed among the 
members, and the resolutions would have passed by an over- 
whelming vote — but that on the very day before the one fixed 
for their introduction news came of Lee's defeat at Gettysburg 
and the capture of Vicksburg, and it was determined to indefi- 
nitely postpone the measure. But several distinguished Fed- 
eral generals have stated that just after the battle of second 
Cold Harbor, in June, 1864, was the time when the Confederacy 
was nearest independence. 

General Grant had made his campaign from the Rapidan 
and in that series of terrific battles had been foiled at every 
point, had lost more men than General Lee had, until after the 
terrible slaughter at Cold Harbor his brave men refused to 
obey orders to make another attack, and (as Swinton puts it in 
his " Army of the Potomac ") " the immobile lines pronounced 
a verdict silent but emphatic against further slaughter." 

The statement is that after this battle, and the complete 
demonstration of the fact that Grant could no longer " fight it 
out on this line," Mr. Lincoln became very much discouraged 
and had decided that "the time had come for negotiations," 
and had directed Mr. Seward to prepare a proclamation to this 
eff'ect, but that before the proclamation was issued more favor- 
able news came from Sherman and it was suppressed. 

Whether this statement is true we cannot say — though it is 
made on very. high authority and we believe it — but we do 
affirm that after Cold Harbor our array was in high spirits 
and our government and people decidedly hopeful, and there 
seems but little doubt that if the other Confederate armies 
could have maintained themselves as well as did the Army of 
Northern Virginia we should have won. 



378 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

But General Grant with his immense army sat down to the 
siege of Petersburg — a position which he might have taken at 
first without firing a shot or losing a man — and with illimit- 
able resources of men and supplies continued his campaign of 
"attrition" all of the summer and autumn and winter, until 
our army dwindled to 35,000 men to guard forty miles of 
breastworks and oppose 140,000 splendidly equipped and 
abundantly supplied men, and our thin lines " were stretched 
until they broke," and the sad end came. Meantime Sher- 
man's capture of Atlanta and march through Georgia and the 
Carolinas, and Hood's disastrous campaign into Tennessee had 
sealed the fate of the Confederacy. 

But amid all of these disasters President Davis was calm, 
brave, and determined. 

We give as illustrating his view of the situation in March, 
1865, the last message he ever sent to Congress- 

PRESIDENT DAVIS'S LAST MESS> 

" To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate 
States of America: 

" When informed on Thursday last that it was the intention 
of Congress to adjourn sine die on the ensuing Saturday, I 
deemed it my duty to request a postponement of the adjourn- 
ment, in order that I might submit for your consideration, 
certain matters of public interest which are now laid before 
you. When that request was made, the most important meas- 
ures that had occupied your attention during the session had 
not been so far advanced as to be submitted for Executive 
action, and the state of the country had been so materially 
affected by the events of the last four months as to evince the 
necessity of further and more energetic legislation than was 
contemplated in November last. 

" Our country is now environed with perils which it is our 
duty calmly to contemplate. Thus alone can the measures 
necessary to avert threatened calamities be wisely and effi- 
ciently enforced. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 379 

" Recent military operations of the enemy have been suc- 
cessful in the capture of some of our seaports, in interrupting 
some of our lines of communication, and in devastating large 
districts of our country. These events have had the natural 
effect of encouraging our foes and dispiriting many of our 
people. The capital of the Confederate States is now threat- 
ened, and is in greater danger than it has heretofore been 
during the war. The fact is stated without reserve or conceal- 
ment, as due to the people whose servants we are, and in whose 
courage and constancy entire trust is reposed as due to you, 
in whose wisdom and resolute spirit the people have confided 
for the adoption of the measures required to guard them from 
threatened perils. 

" While stating to you that our country is in danger, I desire 
also to state my deliberate conviction that it is within our 
power to avert the calamities which menace us, and to secure 
the triumph of the sacred cause for which so much sacrifice 
has been made, so much suffering endured, so many precious 
lives been lost. This result is to be obtained by fortitude, by 
courage, by constancy in enduruig the sacrifices still needed ; 
in a word, by the prompt and resolute devotion of the whole 
resources of men and money in the Confederacy to the achieve- 
ment of our liberties and independence. 

" The measures now required, to be successful, should be 
prompt. Long deliberation and protracted debate over impor- 
tant measures are not only natural, but laudable, in repre- 
sentative assemblies under ordinary circumstances; but in 
moments of danger, when action becomes urgent, the delay 
thus caused is itself a new source of peril. Thus it has unfor- 
tunately happened that some of the measures passed by you 
in pursuance of the recommendations contained in my mes- 
sage of November last, have been so retarded as to lose much 
of their value, or have, for the same reason, been abandoned 
after being matured, because no longer applicable to our 
altered condition ; and others have not been brought under 
examination. In making these remarks, it is far from my 
intention to attribute the loss of time to any other causes than 
those inherent in deliberative assemblies, but only urgently to 
recommend prompt action upon the measures now submitted. 

"We need, for carrying on the war successfully, men 
and supplies for the army. We have both within our country 
sufficient to attain success. 



380 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

" To obtain the supplies it is necessary to protect productive 
districts, guard our lines of communication by an increase in 
the number of our forces; and hence it results, that with a 
large augmentation in the number of men in the army, the 
facility of supplying the troops would be greater than with our 
recent reduced strength. 

" For the purchase of supplies now required, especially for the 
armies in Virginia and North Carolina, the treasury must be 
provided with means, and a modification in the impressment 
law is required. It has been ascertained by examination that we 
have within our reach a sufficiency of what is most needed for 
the army, and without having recourse to the ample provision 
existing in those parts of the Confederacy with which our 
communication has been partially interrupted by hostile ope- 
rations. But in some districts from which supplies are to be 
drawn the inhabitants, being either within the enemy's lines 
or in very close proximity, are unable to make use of Confede- 
rate treasury notes for the purchase of articles of prime neces- 
sity; and it is necessary that, to some extent, coin be paid in 
order to obtain supplies. It is, therefore, recommended that 
Congress devise the means for making available the coin with- 
in the Confederacy for the purpose of supplying the army. 
The officers of the supply departments report that, with two 
millions of dollars in coin, the armies in Virginia and North 
Carolina can be amply supplied for the remainder of the year; 
and the knowledge of this fact should suffice to insure the 
adoption of the measures necessary to obtain this moderate 
sum. 

" The impressment law, as it now exists, prohibits the public 
officers from impressing supplies without making payment of 
the valuation at the time of impressment. The limit fixed 
for the issue of treasury notes has been nearly reached, and 
the treasury cannot easily furnish the funds necessary for 
prompt payment, w^iile the law for raising revenue, which 
would have afforded means for diminishing, if not removing 
this difficulty, was unfortunately delayed for several months, 
and has just been signed. In this condition of things it is 
impossible to supply the army, although ample stores may 
exist in the country, whenever the owners refuse to give credit 
to the public officer. It is necessary that this restriction on 
the power of impressment be removed. The power is admitted 
to be objectionable, liable to abuse, and unequal in its opera- 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 381 

tion on individuals; yet all these objections must yield to abso- 
lute necessity. It is also suggested that the system of valua- 
tion now established ought to be radically changed. The 
legislation requires, in such cases of impressment, that the 
market price be paid ; but there is really no market price in 
many cases, and then valuation is made arbitrarily and in a 
depreciated currency. The result is that the most extravagant 
prices are fixed, such as no one expects ever to be paid in coin. 
None believe that the government can ever redeem in coin 
the obligation to pay fifty dollars a bushel for corn, or seven 
hundred dollars a barrel for flour. It would seem to be more 
just and appropriate to estimate the supplies impressed at their 
value in coin, to give the obligation of the government for the 
payment of the price in coin, with reasonable interest, or, at 
the option of the creditor, to return in kind the wheat and 
corn impressed, with a reasonable interest, also payable in 
kind; and to make the obligations thus issued receivable for 
all payments due in coin to the government. Whatever be the 
value attached by Congress to these suggestions, it is hoped 
that there will be no hesitation in so changing the law as to 
render it possible to supply the army in case of necessity by 
the impressment of provisions for that purpose. 

''The measure adopted to raise revenue, though liberal in 
its provisions, being clearly inadequate to meet the arrears of 
debt and current expenditures, some degree of embarrassment 
in the management of the finances must continue to be felt. 
It is to be regretted, I think, that the recommendation of the 
Secretary of the Treasury of a tax on agricultural income 
equal to the augmented tax on other incomes, payable in trea- 
sury notes, was rejected by Congress. This tax would have 
contributed materially to facilitate the purchase of provisions 
and diminish the necessity that is now felt for a supply of 
coin. 

"The measures passed by Congress during the session for 
recruiting the army and supplying the additional force needed 
for the public defense have been, in my judgment, insufficient, 
and I am impelled by a profound conviction of duty, and stim- 
ulated by a sense of the perils which surround our country, to 
urge upon j^ou additional legislation upon this subject. 

" The bill for employing negroes for soldiers has not yei reach- 
ed me, though the printed journals of your proceedings inform 



382 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

me of its passage. Much benefit is anticipated from this meas- 
ure, though far less than would have resulted from its adoption 
at an earlier date, so as to afford time for their organization 
and instruction during the winter months. 

"The bill for diminishing the number of exempts has just 
been made the subject of a special message, and its provisions 
are such as would add no strength to the army. The recom- 
mendation to abolish all class exemptions has not met your 
favor, although still deemed by me a valuable and important 
measure; and the number of men exempted by a new clause 
in the act thus passed is believed to be quite equal to that of 
those whose exemption is revoked. A law of a few lines repeal- 
ing all class exemptions would not only strengthen the forces 
in the field, but be still more beneficial by abating the natural 
discontent and jealousy created in the army by the existence of 
classes privileged by law to remain in places of safety while 
their fellow-citizens are exposed in the trenches and the field. 

"The measure most needed, however, at the present time, for 
affording an effective increase to our military strength, is a 
general militia law, such as the constitution authorizes Con- 
gress to pass, by granting to it power 'to provide for organiz- 
ing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing 
such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
Confederate States,' and the further power 'to provide for call- 
ing forth the militia to execute the laws of the Confederate 
States, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.' The ne- 
cessity for the exercise of this power can never exist if not in 
the circumstances that now surround us. The security of the 
States against any encroachment by the Confederate govern- 
ment is amply provided for by the constitution, by 'reserving 
to the States, respectively, the appointment of the officers, and 
the authority of training the inilitia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress.' 

"A law is needed to prescribe not oniy how,andof whatper- 
sons, the militia are to be organized, but to provide the mode 
of calling them out. If instances be required to show the 
necessity of such general law, it is sufficient to mention that, in 
one case, I have been informed by the governor of a State that 
the law does not permit him to call the militia from one county 
for service in another; so that a single brigade of the enemy 
could traverse the State, and devastate each county in turn, 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 383 

without any power on the part of the Executive to use the mi- 
litia for effective defence; wliile in another State the Executive 
refused to allow the militia * to be employed in the service of 
the Confederate States/ in the absence of a law for that purpose. 

"I have heretofore, in a confidential message to the two 
houses, stated the facts which induced me to consider it neces- 
sary that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus should be 
suspended. The conviction of the necessity of this measure 
has become deeper as the events of the struggle have been 
developed. Congress has not concurred with me in opinion. 
It is my duty to say that the time has arrived when the suspen- 
sion of the writ is not simply advisable and expedient, but almost 
indispensable to the successful conduct of the war. On Con- 
gress must rest the responsibility of declining to exercise a 
power conferred by the constitution as a means of public safety, 
to be used in periods of national peril resulting from foreign 
invasion. If our present circumstances are not such as were 
contemplated when this power was conferred, I confess myself 
at a loss to imagine any contingency in which this clause of 
the constitution will not remain a dead letter. 

" With the prompt adoption of the measures above recom- 
mended, and the united and hearty cooperation of Congress 
and the people in the execution of the laws and defense of the 
country, we may enter upon the present campaign with cheer- 
ful confidence in the result. And who can doubt the con- 
tinued existence of that spirit and fortitude in the people, and 
of that constancy under reverses which alone are needed to 
render our triumph secure? What other resource remains 
available but the undying, unconquerable resolve to be free? 
It has become certain, beyond all doubt or question, that we 
must continue this struggle to a successful issue or must make 
abject and unconditional submission to such terms as it shall 
please the conqueror to impose on us after our surrender. If 
a possible doubt could exist after the conference between our 
commissioners and Mr. Lincoln, as recently reported to you, it 
would be dispelled by a recent occurrence, of which it is proper 
you should be informed. 

" Congress will remember that in the conference above referred 
to our commissioners M' ere informed that the government of the 
United States would not enter into any agreement or treat}^ what- 
ever with the Confederate States nor with any single State, and 



384 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

that the only possible mode of obtaining peace was by laying 
down our arms, disbanding our forces, and yielding uncondi- 
tional obedience to the laws of the United States, including those 
passed for the confiscation of our property and the constitu- 
tional amendment for the abolition of slavery. It will further 
be remembered that Mr, Lincoln declared that the only terms 
on which hostilities could cease were those stated in his mes- 
sage of December last, in which we were informed that in the 
event of our penitent submission he would temper justice with 
mercy, and that the question whether we would be governed 
as dependent territories or permitted to have a representa- 
tion in their Congress was one on which he could promise 
nothing, but which would be decided by their Congress after 
our submission had been accepted. 

"It has not, however, been hitherto stated to you that in the 
course of the conference at Fortress Monroe a suggestion was 
made by one of our commissioners that the objections enter- 
tained by Mr. Lincoln to treating with the government of the 
Confederacy, or with any separate State, might be avoided by 
substituting for the usual mode of negotiating through com- 
missioners, or other diplomatic agents, the method sometimes 
employed of a military convention, to be entered into by the 
commanding generals of the armies of the two belligerents. 
This, he admitted, was a power possessed by him, though it 
was not thought commensurate with all the questions involved. 
As he did not accept the suggestion when made, he was after- 
wards requested to reconsider his conclusion upon the subject 
of a suspension of hostilities, which he agreed to do, but said 
that he had maturely considered of the plan and had deter- 
mined that it could not be done. 

" Subsequently, however, an interview with General Long- 
street was asked for by General Ord, commanding the enemy's 
Army of the James, during which General Longstreet was 
informed by him that there was a possibility of arriving at a 
satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by 
means of a military convention, and that if General Lee desired 
an interview on the subject, it would not be declined, provided 
General Lee had authority to act. This communication was 
supposed to be the consequence of the suggestion referred to, 
and General Lee, according to instructions, wrote to General 
Grant, on the 2d of this month, proposing to meet him for 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 385 

conference on the subject, and stating that he was vested with 
the requisite authority. General Grant's reply stated that he 
had no authority to accede to the proposed conference ; that 
his powers extended only to making a convention on subjects 
purely of a military character, and that General Ord could 
only have meant that an interview would not be refused on 
any subject on which he (General Grant) had the right to act. 

" It thus appears that neither with the Confederate author- 
ities, nor the authorities of any State, nor through the com- 
manding generals, will the government of the United States 
treat or make any terms or agreement whatever for the cessa- 
tion of hostilities. There remains then for us no choice but 
to continue this contest to a final issue ; for the people of the 
Confederacy can be but little known to him who supposes it 
possible they would ever consent to purchase, at the cost of 
degradation and slavery, permission to live in a country gar- 
risoned by their own negroes and governed by officers sent by 
the conqueror to rule over them. 

*' Having thus fully placed before you the information requi- 
site to enable you to judge of the state of the country, the 
dangers to which we are exposed, and the measures of legisla- 
tion needed for averting them, it remains for me but to invoke 
your attention to the consideration of those means by which, 
above all others, we may hope to escape the calamities that 
would result from our failure. Prominent above all others, is 
the necessity for earnest and cordial cooperation between all 
departments of government, State and Confederate, and all 
eminent citizens throughout the Confederacy. To you, especi- 
ally, as Senators and Representatives, do the people look for 
encouragement and counsel. To your action, not only in leg- 
islative halls, but in your homes, will their eyes be turned for 
the example of what is befittingmen who, by willing sacrifices 
on the altar of freedom, show that they are worthy to enjoy its 
blessings. I feel full of confidence that you will concur with 
me in the conviction that your public duties will not be 
ended when you shall have closed the legislative labors 
of the session, but that your voice will be heard cheering and 
encouraging the people to that persistent fortitude which they 
have hitherto displayed, and animating them by the manifes- 
tation of that serene confidence which, in moments of public 
danger, is the distinctive characteristic of the patriot, who 
25 



386 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

derives courage from his devotion to his country's destiny, and 
is thus enabled to inspire the like courage in others. 

"Thus united in a common and holy cause, rising above all 
selfish considerations, rendering all our means and faculties 
tributary to the country's welfare, let us bow submissively to 
the Divine will, and reverently invoke the blessing of our 
Heavenly Father, that as He protected and guided our sires 
when struggling in a similar cause, so He will enable us to 
guard safely our altars and firesides, and maintain inviolate 
the political rights w^hich we inherited. 

"Jefferson Davis." 

"Richmond, March 13, 1865." 

We have not space for the full details, but we give the salient 
points in the "Peace Negotiations" of this period in the follow- 
ing documents: 

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF PRESIDENT DAVIS TO GOV. VANCE, 
OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

"We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with 
the authorities at Washington, and have been invariably un- 
successful. Commissioners were sent before hostilities were 
begun, and the Washington government refused to receive 
them or hear what they had to say. A second time, I sent a 
military ofiicer with a communication addressed by myself to 
President Lincoln. The letter was received by General Scott, 
who did not permit the officer to see Mr. Lincoln, but promised 
that an answer would be sent. No answer has ever been re- 
ceived. The third time, a few months ago, a gentleman was 
sent, whose position, character, and reputation were such as to 
ensure his reception, if the enemy were not determined to re- 
ceive no proposals whatever from the government. Vice-Pres- 
ident Stephens made a patriotic tender of his services in the 
hope of being able to promote the cause of humanity, and, 
although little belief was entertained of his success, I cheerfully 
yielded to his suggestions, that the experiment should be tried. 
The enemy refused to let him pass through their lines or hold 
any conference with them. He was stopped before he ever 
reached Fortress Monroe, on his way to Washington. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 387 

"If we will break up our government, dissolve the Confed- 
eracy, disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath 
of allegiance, binding ourselves to obedience to him and of dis- 
loyalty to our own States, he proposes to pardon us, and not to 
plunder us of any thing more than the property already stolen 
from us, and such slaves as still remain. In order to render 
his proposals so insulting as to secure their rejection, he joins 
to them a promise to support with his army one-tenth of the 
people of any State who wall attempt to set up a government 
over the other nine-tenths, thus seeking to sow discord and 
suspicion among the people of the several States, and to excite 
them to civil war in furtherance of his ends. I know w-ell it 
would be impossible to get your people, if they possessed full 
knowledge of these facts, to consent that proposals should now 
be made by us to those who control the government at Wash- 
ington. Your own well-known devotion to the great cause of 
liberty and independence, to which we have all committed 
whatever we have of earthly possessions, would induce you to 
take the lead in repelling the bare thought of abject submis- 
sion to the enemy. Yet peace on other terms is now impossible." 

The famous "Hampton Hoads Conference" was held as the 
result of a visit of Hon. Francis P. Blair to Richmond, and its 
failure was thus made known by President Davis : 

■ MESSAGE CONCERNING THE PEACE CONFERENCE. 

" To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate 
States of America: 

" Having recently received a written notification, which sat 
isfied me that the President of the United States was disposed 
to confer, informally, with unofficial agents that might be 
sent by me, with a view to the restoration of peace, I requested 
Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, and Hon. 
John A. Campbell, to proceed through our lines, to hold a 
conference with Mr. Lincoln, or such persons as he might 
depute to represent him. 

"I herewith submit, for the information of Congress, the re- 
port of the eminent citizens above named, showing that the 
enemy refuse to enter into negotiations with the Confederate 



388 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

States, or any one of them separately, or to give our people 
any other terms or guarantees than those which a conqueror 
may grant, or permit us to have peace on any other basis than 
our unconditional submission to their rule, coupled with the 
acceptance of their recent legislation, including an amendment 
to the constitution for the emancipation of the negro slaves, 
and with the right, on the part of the Federal Congress, to 
legislate on the subject of the relations between the white and 
black population of each State. 

" Such is, as I understand, the effect of the amendment to 
the constitution, which has been adopted by the Congress of 
the United States. Jefferson Davis." 

" Executive Office, Feb. 5, 1865." 

" Richmond, Va., February 5, 1865. 
" lo the President of the Confederate States : 

"Sir, — Under your letter of appointment of the 28th ultimo 
we proceeded to seek an informal conference with Abraham 
Lincoln, President of the United States, upon the subject men- 
tioned in your letter. 

"The conference was granted, and took place on the 3d 
instant, on board a steamer anchored in Hampton Roads, 
where we met President Lincoln and Hon. Mr. Seward, Secre- 
tary of State of the United States. It continued for several 
hours, and was both full and explicit, 

" We learned from them that the message of President Lin- 
coln to the Congress of the United States, in December last, 
explains clearly and distinctly, his sentiments as to terms, 
conditions, and method of proceeding by which peace can be 
secured to the people, and we were not informed that they 
would be modified or altered to obtain that end. We under- 
stood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or 
agreement looking to an ultimate settlement would be enter- 
tained or made by him with the authorities of the Confederate 
States, because that would be a recognition of their existence 
as a separate power, which, under no circumstances, would be 
done; and, for like reasons, that no such terms would be 
entertained by him from States separately ; that no extended 
truce or armistice, as at present advised, would be granted or 
allowed without satisfactory assurance, in advance, of com- 
plete restoration of the authority of the constitution and laws of 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 389 

the United States over all places within the States of the Con- 
federacy ; that whatever consequences may follow from the re- 
establishment of that authority must be accepted, but the indi- 
viduals subject to pains and penalties, under the laws of the 
United States, might rely upon a very liberal use of the power 
confided to him to remit those pains and penalties if peace be 
restored. 

" During the conference the proposed amendments to the 
constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress on the 
31st ultimo, were brought to our notice. These amendments 
provide that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
for crime, should exist within the United States or any place 
within their jurisdiction, and that Congress should have the 
power to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. 

"Of all the correspondence that preceded the conference 
herein mentioned, and leading to the same, you have hereto- 
fore been informed. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servants, 

"Alex. H. Stephens, 
"R. M. T. Hunter, 
"J. A. Campbell. 

There can be no sort of doubt that the Federal government 
offered at this time only "unconditional surrender" — that 
neither the army nor the people were prepared for this — and 
that Mr. Davis was right in refusing to accept the hard con- 
ditions. 

But at last the end came, and while Mr. Davis was occupy- 
ing his pew in St. Paul's church, on Sunday morning, April 
2d, 1865, there was handed him a telegram from General Lee 
announcing the breaking of his lines at Petersburg, and the 
necessity of evacuating Richmond and Petersburg that night. 
The sensational stories that have been published to. the effect 
that he hastily left the church, looking so pale as to attract 
attention — that he hurried home to pack his own personal 
effects, and that he impressed for his private use cars that 
were needed for the public service — are all like so many other 
stories about Mr. Davis, jpure romance. 



390 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

We give his own statement, as published in his " Rise and 
Fall of the Confederate Government," and if any statement of 
this stainless gentleman needed corroborating, we could mul- 
tiply the recollections of eye-witnesses confirming what he says. 

But we append the following account from him in the full 
confidence that it will be accepted by all right thinking men : 

" On Sunday, the 2d of April, while I was in St. Paul's 
church, General Lee's telegram announcing his speedy with- 
drawal from Petersburg and the consequent necessity for evac- 
uating Richmond was handed to me. I quietly rose and left 
the church. The occurrence probably attracted attention, but 
the people of Richmond had been too long beleaguered, had 
known me too often to receive notice of threatened attacks, and 
the congregation at St. Paul's was too refined to make a scene 
at anticipated danger. For all these reasons the reader will be 
prepared for the announcement that the sensational stories 
which have been published about the agitation caused by my 
leaving the church during service were the creations of fertile 
imaginations, I went to my ofiice and assembled the heads of 
departments and bureaus, as far as they could be found on a 
day when all the offices were closed, and gave the needful 
instructions for our removal that night, simultaneously with 
General Lee's withdrawal from Petersburg. The event was 
not unforeseen and some preparation had been made for it, 
though, as it came sooner than was expected, there was yet 
much to be done. My own papers were disposed as usual for 
convenient reference in the transaction of current affairs, and 
as soon as the principal officers had left me the executive 
papers were arranged for removal. This occupied myself and 
staff until late in the afternoon. By this time the report that 
Richmond was to be evacuated had spread through the town, 
and many who saw me walking toward my residence left their 
houses to inquire whether the report was true. Upon my 
admission of the painful fact, qualified, however, by the ex- 
pression of my hope that we would under better auspices 
again return, the ladies especially, with generous sympathy 
and patriotic impulse, responded: 'If the success of the cause 
requires you to give up Richmond, we are content.' 



392 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

''The afifection and confidence of this noble people in the 
hour of disaster were more distressing to me than complaint 
and unjust censure would have been. 

"In view of the diminishing resources of the country on 
which the Army of Northern Virginia relied for supplies, I had 
urged the policy of sending families as far as practicable to the 
south and west, and had set the example by requiring my 
own to go. If it was practicable and desirable to hold the 
south side of the James, then, even for merely material consider- 
ations, it was important to hold Richmond, and this could best 
have been done if there had been none there save those who 
could aid in its defense. If it was not practicable and desira- 
ble to hold the south side of the James, then Richmond would 
be isolated, and if it could have been defended, its depots, foun- 
dries, workshops, and mills could have contributed nothing to 
the armies outside, and its possession would no longer have 
been to us of military importance. Ours being a struggle for 
existence, the indulgence of sentiment would have been mis- 
placed. 

"Being alone in Richmond the few arrangements needful for 
my personal wants were soon made after reaching home. Then, 
leaving all else in care of the housekeeper, I waited until noti- 
fied of the time when the train would depart; then, going to 
the station, started for Danville, whither I supposed General 
Lee would proceed with his army." 

Equally false is the charge that Mr. Davis had ordered to 
Richmond a train loaded with provisions intended to be left 
for General Lee's army at Amelia Courthouse. General I. M. St. 
John, the able and accomplished commissary-general at the 
time, has proven beyond peradventure, in a paper jDublished in 
Southern Historical Society Papers, that his department received 
no request for rations to be sent to Amelia Courthouse, and 
that if such a request had come from General Lee it could 
have been very easily done, and the rations would have been 
put there. 

And yet it is true that General Lee did direct rations to be 
accumulated at Amelia Courthouse — that he was very much 
disappointed in not finding them tliere — and that the delay in 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 393 

the vain effort to collect rations from the surrounding country 
enabled Grant to reach Burkeville in time to cut Lee off from 
his contemplated move on Danville. 

Who was responsible for this failure will probably never be 
known, at least with sufficient accuracy to publish it; but it is 
certain that neither Mr. Davis nor General St. John were 
blameworthy. 

Mr. Davis went straight to Danville where he established his 
headquarters, and from which he issued his famous proclama- 
tion which, (while it is easy to ridicule it now, and of which he 
himself said in his book, " viewed by the light of subsequent 
events, it may fairly |be said it was over-sanguine,") so shows 
the spirit of the man that we give it in full as follows : 

''Danville, Va., April 5, 1865. 

"The General-in-Chief found it necessary to make such 
movements of his troops as to uncover the capital. It would 
be unwise to conceal the moral and material injury to our cause 
resulting from the occupation of our capital by the enemy. It 
is equally unwise and unworthy of us to allow our own ener- 
gies to falter, and our efforts to become relaxed under reverses, 
however calamitous they may be. For many months the 
largest and finest army of the Confederacy, under a leader whose 
presence inspires equal confidence in the troops and the people, 
has been greatly trammeled by the necessity of keeping constant 
watch over the approaches to the capital, and has thus been 
forced to forego more than one opportunity for promising en- 
terprise. It is for us, my countr3mien, to show by our bearing 
under reverses, how wretched has been the self-deception of 
those who have believed us less able to endure misfortune with 
fortitude than to encounter danger with courage. 

"We have now entered upon a new phase of the struggle. 
Relieved from the necessity of guarding particular points, our 
army will be free to move from point to point, to strike the 
enemy in detail far from his base. Let us but will it, and we 
are free. 

"Animated by that confidence in your spirit and fortitude 
which never yet failed me, I announce to you, fellow-country- 



394 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

men, that it is my purpose to maintain your cause with my 
whole heart and soul; that I will never consent to abandon to 
the enemy one foot of the soil of any of the States of the Con- 
federacy; that Virginia — noble State — whose ancient renown 
has been eclipsed by her still more glorious recent history ; 
whose bosom has been bared to receive the main shock of this 
war; whose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so sub- 
lime as to render her illustrious in all time to come — that Vir- 
ginia, with the help of the people, and by the blessing of Prov- 
idence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made 
with the infamous invaders of her territory. 

"If, by the stress of numbers, we should be compelled to a 
temporary withdrawal from her limits, or those of any other 
border State, we will return until the baffled and exhausted 
enemy shall abandon in despair his endless and impossible 
task of making slaves of a people resolved to be free. 

"Let us, then, not despond, my countrymen, but, relying on 
God, meet the foe wdth fresh defiance, and with unconquered 
and unconquerable hearts. 

"Jefferson Davis." 

The first news of General Lee's surrender reached Mr. 
Davis through Lieutenant John S. Wise (son of General Henry 
A. Wise), then a mere youth, who, when he became satisfied 
that the surrender w^ould occur, rode through the enemy's 
lines, went to' Danville, and informed the President of it. 

This was, of course, a great disappointment and grief to 
him, but he bore himself grandly, and still hoped that with 
Johnston's army he could strike an effectual blow for freedom. 

A correspondent of the Bichmond Dispatch gives the follow- 
ing incident of Mr. Davis's leaving Danville : 

"Danville, Va., December 11, 1889. 

" The occasion of Mr. Davis's funeral recalls most vividly to 
the old residents of Danville the sad and exciting times wheny' 
the President of the Confederacy and his cabinet spent a few 
days in Danville, the last capital of the Confederate govern- 
ment. 



CLOSE Of the WAB. 395 

" Mr. Davis and his cabinet came to Danville early in April, 
1865, and made their headquarters at the residence of Major 
W. T. Sutherlin. There they remained for three days, and 
the last proclamation of Mr. Davis was written on a table 
which still stands in the hall of Major Sutherlin's house and 
is, of course, the most highly honored piece of furniture in 
the house. 

"I had a chat last night with Mrs. Sutherlin concerning the 
stay of Mr. Davis in her house, and every little incident is still 
fresh in her memory. Said she: 

" ' When Mr. Davis had been at our house for three days he 
said that he could not impose on our hospitality longer, and 
made arrangements to establish his headquarters at the old 
-Benedict house, on Wilson street. I told him that he might 
take his cabinet to any place he pleased, but as for himself he 
must be our guest so long as he remained in the city, and he 
yielded to the request. He remained here five days after that 
time, and was, of course, in a most anxious frame of mind, but 
was always pleasant and agreeable. One morning he and Mr. 
Sutherlin went down town and soon returned in an excited 
manner, and I knew something had happened. I met them 
at the door, and Mr, Davis told me almost in a whisper that 
Lee had surrendered and that he must leave town as soon as 
possible. 

'"Making a few hurried arrangements, he offered his hand 
tome to say good-by, and I asked him the question: 'Mr. 
Davis, have you any funds other, than Confederate money?' 
and he replied in the negative. 'Then,' said I, offering him a 
bag of gold containing a thousand dollars, 'take this from 
me.' I offered the money without having consulted ]\Ir. Suth- 
erlin, but knew it would be all right with him. 

'"Mr. Davis took my hand and the tears streamed down his 
face. 'No,' said he, 'I cannot take your money. You and 
your husband are young and will need your money, while I 
am an old man, and,' adding after a pause, ' I don't reckon I 
shall need anything very long.' 

'"He then put his hand in his pocket and took out a little 
gold pencil wliich he asked me to keep for his sake, and I have 
the little memento now.' She then showed the little gift to 
myself and others in the room and said she had never used it, 
but had always preserved it as a sacred gift. 



396 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" ' When Mr. Davis had said good-by/ continued Mrs. 
Sutherlin, ' he hurried to the train and left town as soon as 
possible.' 

"'Did Mr. Davis think the war was then ended?' I asked. 

" ' Not at all,' she replied. ' One day at the table I said to 
him: 'Mr. Davis, would Lee's surrender end the war?' and he 
replied: 

'"By no means. We'll fight it out to the Mississippi river.' 
And so said all his officers. I told them they were simply 
whistling to keep their courage up, but they said they meant 
what they said.' " 

MEETING OP MR. DAVIS AND HIS CABINET WITH GENERALS 
JOHNSTON AND BEAUREGARD AT GREENSRORO*, N. C. 

Secretary S. R. Mallory has written a vivid account of a 
meeting of the cabinet at Greensboro', called to consult with 
Generals Johnston and Beauregard on "the situation." We 
quote as follows: 

" At 8 o'clock that evening the cabinet, with the exception of 
Mr. Trenholm, whose illness prevented his attendance, joined 
the President at his room. It was a small apartment, some 
twelve by sixteen feet, containing a bed, a few chairs, and a 
table, with writing materials, on the second floor of the small 
dwelling of Mrs. John Taylor Wood ; and a few minutes after 
eight the two generals entered. 

" The uniform habit of President Davis, in cabinet meet- 
ings, was to cons'Ume some little time in general conversation 
before entering upon the business of the occasion, and not unfre- 
quently introducing some anecdote or interesting episode, 
generally some reminiscence of the early life of himself or 
others in the army, the Mexican war, or his Washington expe- 
riences; and his manner of relating and his application of 
them were at all times very happy and pleasing. 

" Few men seized more readily upon the sprightly aspects 
of any transaction, or turned them to better account ; and his 
powers of mimicry, whenever he condescended to exercise 
them, were irresistible. Upon this occasion, at a time when 
the cause of the Confederacy was hopeless, when its soldiers 
were throwing away their arms and flying to their homes, 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 597 

when its government, stripped of nearly all power, could not 
hope to exist beyond a few days more, and when the enemy, 
more powerful and exultant than ever, was advancing upon 
all sides, true to his habit, he introduced several subjects of 
conversation, not connected with the condition of the country, 
and discussed them as if at some pleasant ordinary meeting. 
After a brief time thus spent, turning to General Johnston, he 
said, in his usual quiet, grave way, when entering upon matters 
of business: 'I have requested you and General Beauregard, 
General Johnston, to join us this evening, that we might have 
the benefit of your views upon the situation of tliie country. 
Of course, we all feel the magnitude of the moment. Our 
late disasters are terrible, but I do not think we should regard 
them as fatal. I think we can whip the enemy yet, if our 
people will turn out. We must look at matters calmly, how- 
ever, and see what is left for us to do. AVhatever can be done 
must be done at once. We have not a day to lose.' A pause 
ensued. General Johnston notseeming to deem himself expected 
to speak, when the President said : 'We should like to hear 
your views. General Johnston.' Upon this the General, with- 
out preface, or introduction — his words translating the expres- 
sion which his face had worn since he entered the room — said, 
in his terse, concise, demonstrative way, as if seeking to con- 
dense thoughts that w^ere crow^ding for utterance: 'My views 
are, sir, that our people are tired of the war, feel themselves 
whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military 
resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power 
and resources were never greater, and may be increased to any 
desired extent. We cannot place another large army in the 
field ; and, cut off as we are from foreign intercourse, I do not 
see how we could maintain it in fighting condition if we had 
it. My men are daily deserting in large numbers, and are 
taking my artillery teams to aid their escape to their homes. 
Since Lee's defeat they regard the war at an end. If I march 
out of North Carolina, her people will all leave my ranks. It 
will be the same as I proceed south through South Carolina 
and Georgia, and I shall expect to retain no man beyond the 
by-road or cow-path that leads to his house. My small force 
is melting away like snow before the sun, and I am hopeless 
of recruiting it. We may, perhaps, obtain terms which we 
ought to accept.' 



398 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL tJME. 

" The tone and manner, almost spiteful, in which the general 
jerked out these brief, decisive sentences, pausing at every para- 
graph, left no doubt as to his own convictions. When he 
ceased speaking, whatever was thought of his statements — and 
their importance was fully understood — they elicited neither 
comment nor inquiry. The President, who, during their 
delivery, had sat with his eyes fixed upon a scrap of paper 
which he was folding and re-folding abstractedly, and who had 
listened without a change of position or expression, broke the 
silence by saying, in a low, even tone: ' What do you say, Gen- 
eral Beauregard?' 

'" I concur in all General Johnston has said,' he replied. 

" Another silence, more eloquent of the full appreciation of 
the condition of the country than words could have been, suc- 
ceeded, during which the President's manner was unchanged. 

"After a brief pause he said, without a variation of tone or 
expression, and without raising his eyes from the slip of paper 
between his fingers: 'Well, General Johnston, what do you pro- 
pose? You speak of obtaining terms. You know, of course, 
that the enemy refuses to treat with us. How do you propose 
to obtain terms?' 

" ' I think the opposing generals in the field may arrange 
them.' 

" 'Do you think Sherman will treat with you?' 

" ' I have no reason to think otherwise. Such a course would 
be in accordance with military usage, and legitimate.' 

" 'We can easily try it, sir. If we can accomplish any good 
for the country. Heaven knows I am not particular as to forms. 
How will you reach Sherman?' 

" 'I would address him a brief note, proposing an interview 
to arrange terms of surrender and peace, embracing, of course, 
a cessation of hostilities during the negotiations.' 

" ' Well, sir, you can adopt this course, though I confess I am 
not sanguine as to ultimate results.' 

"The member of the cabinet before referred to as convers- 
ing with General Johnston, and who was anxious that his views 
should be promptly carried out, immediately seated himself at 
the writing-table, and, taking up a pen, offered to act as the 
general's amanuensis. At the request of the latter, however, 
the President dictated the letter to General Sherman, which 
was written at once upon a half sheet of letter folded as note 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 399 

paper, and signed by General Johnston, who took it, and said 
he would send it to General Sherman early in the morning, 
and in a few minutes the conference broke up. This note, 
which was a brief proposition for a suspension of hostilities, 
and a conference with a view to agreeing upon terms of peace, 
has been published with other letters which passed between the 
two generals. 

"On or about the 16th of April, the President, his staff, and 
cabinet left Greensboro' to proceed still further south, with 
plans unformed, clinging to the hope that Johnston and Sher- 
man would secure peace and the quiet of the country, but still 
all doubtful of the result, and still more doubtful as to conse- 
quences of failure." 

After the agreement between Johnston and Sherman had 
been disapproved at Washington, and Johnston was negotiating 
for the surrender of his own army, there was nothing left Presi- 
dent Davis but to continue his retreat in order to fulfill his pur- 
pose of reaching General Taylor, crossing the Mississippi, and 
continuing the fight in the Trans-Mississippi department. 

AT WASHINGTON, GA. 

The following was written as a private letter not intended 
for publication, but it brings out so beautifully several charac- 
teristics of Mr. Davis that my accomplished friend. Rev. Dr^ 
H. A. Tupper, must excuse me for giving it in full : 

"Richmond, Virginia, December 25, 1889. 
^^Rev. J. Wm. Jones, D. D., Atlanta, Ga.: 

" Dear Doctor — I am glad that you propose to publish a 
memorial volume of the late Jefferson Davis. It seems to be 
demanded by the expression of mournful feeling which has 
pervaded the entire South, the like of which has never appeared 
in my day and generation. Great men have fallen in the 
country and great funeral pageants have been witnessed, but 
I remember no parallel to such a sight of weeping eyes and 
saddened countenances among a whole people. 

"There was a feature of Mr. Davis's character which comes 
to my recollection on seeing, in our Richmond Dispatch an allu- 



400 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

sion to the revival of the story that Mr. Davis was captured in a 
woman's dress. I refer to his imperturbable, calm courage. You 
are aware of the fact that my house in Washington, Ga., was 
selected as the place for the reception of Mr, Davis and his party 
after the evacuation of Richmond. Mrs. Davis, with the chil- 
dren, was at the residence of my senior deacon (Dr. Fielding Fick- 
len, the father-in-law of the late Rev. James P. Bryce, D. D., Mrs. 
Tupper's brother). The day before Mr. Davis was to arrive in 
Washington Mrs. Davis and the children were sent forward in 
a little wagon toward Ray town, Ga. When Mr. Davis was 
near our town I sent on horseback one of Dr. Ficklen's sons 
to overtake Mrs. Davis and request her to stop at Raytown, 
where Mr. Davis would meet her. That day Mrs. Tupper was 
taken seriously ill, and a daughter was born into the family. 
Dr. J. J. Robertson, cashier of the Washington bank, was 
requested to receive the party, which he did most cordially. 
It was in his house that the last cabinet-meeting of the Con- 
federacy was held. It was there formally dissolved. The party 
arrived about nine o'clock in the evening. The Federal troops 
had crossed the Savannah river, only some twenty miles dis- 
tant. The citizens were anxious that Mr. Davis should not 
expose himself unduly. About midnight several of the dis- 
tinguished company departed. Things occurred just at this 
point which have not been written and never will be written. 
" But Mr. Davis had not the remotest idea of going. His 
conduct was much the same as you might see in a gentleman 
who decides not to take a night train, preferring a good night's 
sleep, and a start in the morning. In the morning he was in 
no greater haste to depart. He was informed that Mrs. Davis 
was awaiting him at Raytown, but he must speak to the ladies 
who had called. He was informed that his horse was at the 
door, but he had to kiss the little children that were present. 
It was now nine o'clock, if I am not mistaken. I said to 
Judge Garnett Andrews. 'I really believe that Mr. Davis 
wishes to be captured.' At last, accompanied by Colonel John- 
ston, son of General Sidney Johnston, he walked in the most 
leisurely way down the front steps of Dr. Robertson's house, 
saying something appropriate to every one that approached 
him. A Washington (Ga.) paper in an issue many years ago, 
now before me, says : To words of cheer and consolation 
addressed to him by the writer, Mr. Davis replied: 'Though 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 401 

He slay me, yet will I trust Him.' Then in the quietest pos- 
sible manner he mounted his horse, and, Colonel Johnston 
doing the same, the two passed out of the town with the pain- 
ful slowness of mourners in a funeral procession rather than 
in the movement of supposed fugitives. As I think of the 
high bearing and granite firmness of the man I think of the 
words of Confucius: 'See that obelisk, erect, lofty, grand!' 

''Is that the man to be caught, two days after, concealed in a 
woman's garb? Even mendacity itself might be clothed in 
a garment of shame at the utterance of slander so unfounded, 
so malicious. 

"Having nothing special to do at this moment, I scribble 
these lines in vindication of truth, my ej'e having rested on 
the allusion of the Dispatch to which I have referred. 

"I am yours, very truly, 

"H. A. TuppER." 

HIS CAPTURE. 

There are few events which have been more misrepresented 
than the capture of Mr. Davis, and it seems hard to get North- 
ern writers even now to refrain from the sensational slanders 
which were manufactured at the time. 

Several of his captors have contradicted in emphatic terms 
jhese stories. 

The following appeared in the Portland (Maine) Argus: 

" I am no admirer of JefF. Davis. I am a Yankee, born 
between Saccarappa and Gorham Corner; am full of Yankee 
prejudices ; but I think it wicked to lie even about him, or, for 
the matter, about the devil. 

" I was with the party that captured Jefif. Davis ; saw the 
whole transaction from its beginning. I now say — and I hope 
you will publish it — that Jeff. Davis did not have on at the 
time he was taken any such garment as is worn by women. 
He did have over his shoulders a water-proof article of clothing, 
something like a ' Havelock.' It was not in the least con- 
cealed. He wore a hat, and did not carry a pail of water on 
his head, nor carry pail, bucket, or kettle in any way. 

"To the best of my recollection he carried nothing whatever 
in his hands. His wife did not tell any person that her hus- 
26 



402 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

band might hurt somebody if he got exasperated. She behaved 
like a lady and he as a gentleman, though manifestly he was 
chagrined at being taken into custody. Our soldiers behaved 
like gentlemen, as they were, and our officers like honorable, 
brave men; and the foolish stories that went the newspaper 
rounds of the day, telling how wolfishly he deported himself, 
were all false. I know what I am writing about. I saw Jeffer- 
son Davis many times while he was staying in Portland sev- 
eral years ago ; and I think I was the first one who recognized 
him at the time of his arrest. 

"When it was known that he was certainly taken, some news- 
paper correspondent — I knew his name at the time — fabricated 
the story about his disguise in an old woman's dress. I heard 
the whole matter talked over as a good joke ; and the officers, 
who knew better, never took the trouble to deny it. Perhaps 
they thought the Confederate President deserved all the con- 
tempt that could be put upon him. I think so, too ; only I 
would never perpetrate a falsehood that by any means would 
become history. And, further, I would never slander a woman 
who has shown so much devotion as Mrs. Davis has to her 
husband, no matter how wicked he is or may have been. 

" I defy any person to find a single officer or soldier who 
was present at the capture of Jefferson Davis who will say, 
upon honor, that he was disguised in woman's clothes, or that 
his wife acted in any way unlad3dike or undignified on that 
occasion. I go for trying him for his crimes, and if he is 
found guilty, punishing him. But I would not lie about him, 
when the truth will certainly make it bad enough. 

^' Elburnville, Pa. James H. Parker." 

Mr. T. H. Peabody, a lawyer of St. Louis, one of the captors 
of Mr. Davis, in a speech before Ransom Post, G. A. R., deliv- 
ered a few days after the death of Mr. Davis, said : 

''Jefferson Davis was captured by the Fourth Michigan cav- 
alry, in the early morning of May 10, 1865, at Irwinsville, in 
southern Georgia. With him were Mr. Reagan, of Texas, his 
postmaster-general ; Captain Moody, of Mississij^pi, an old neigh- 
bor of the Davis family ; Governor Lubbock, of Texas; Colonels 
Harrison and Johnston of his stafif; Mrs. Davis and her four 
children — Maggie, some ten years old; Jeff, about eight; Willie, 
about five, and a girl baby — a brother and sister of Mrs. Davis, 







HIS CAPTUBE. 



404 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

a white and one colored servant woman, a small force of caval- 
ry, a few others, and a small train of horses, mules, wagons 
and ambulances. Among the horses were a span of carriage 
horses presented to Mrs. Davis by the citizens of Richmond 
during the heydey of the Confederacy, also a splendid saddle- 
horse, the pride of the ex-President himself On the 11th of 
May, the next day after the capture, and while on our way back 
to Macon, as officer of the guard over the distinguished pris- 
oner, I rode by the side of Mr. Reagan, now senator from Texas. 
I found him a very fine gentleman. During that day's 
march a courier from Macon notified us in printed slips of the 
$100,000 reward offered for Mr. Davis's capture, which notice 
connected Davis with the assassination of President Lincoln. 
When Mr. Reagan read the notice he earnestly protested that 
Mr. Davis had no connection whatever with the sorrowful 
affair. History has shown he had none. 

"Besides the suit of men's clothing worn by Mr. Davis, he 
had on, when captured, Mrs. Davis's large water-proof cloak or 
robe, thrown on over his own fine gray suit, and a blanket 
shawl thrown on over his head and shoulders. This shawl 
and robe were finally deposited in the archives of the War De- 
partment at Washington by order of Secretary Stanton. The 
story of the 'hoop skirt, sun bonnet and calico wrapper' had 
no real existence, and was started in the fertile brain of the re- 
porters and in the illustrated papers of that day." 

Major W. T. Walthall published in the Southern Historical Soci- 
ety Papers a scathing review of an utterly false and sensational 
story by General Wilson in the Philadelphia Times. We regret 
that our space does not allow us to give in full this conclusive 
paper, but we take from it the following letters which settle the 
question : 

LETTER FROM COLONEL WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSTON, LATE AIDE 
TO PRESIDENT DAVIS. 

"Lexington, Va., July 14th, 1877. 
"3Iajor W. T. Walthall, Mobile, Ala.: 

"My Dear Sir — Your letter has just come to hand, and I 
reply at once. Wilson's monograph is written with a very 
strong animus, not to say virus. It is in no sense historical. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR 405 

It bears Upon its face all the marks of special pleading. lie 
states as matters of fact, numberless circumstances which could 
not be of his own knowledge, and which he must have picked 
up as rumor or mere gossip. Single errors of this sort are 
blemishes ; but when they are grouped and used as fact and 
argument, they become, what you truly call them, 'calumny.' 

"For instance, Mrs. Davis is represented asleaving Richmond 
with the President. My recollection is that she left some 
weeks beforehand. Breckinridge left on horseback, and went 
to General Lee, rejoining Mr. Davis at Danville. I do not 
doubt that all the account of 'the preparations for flight' is 
purely fictitious. His statement of the conditions of the 
armistice is incorrect. . . . ... 

"You will have the facts of our retreat and capture from 
many sources. My best plan is to tell you only wdiat I know 
and saw myself. My testimony is chiefly negative, but in so 
far as it goes will probably aid you. My understanding w^as 
that we were to part with Mrs. Davis's train on the morning of 
the 9th. We did not, and the President continued to ride in 
the ambulance. He was sick and a good deal exhausted, but 
was not the man to say anything about it. The day previous 
he had let little Jeff, shoot his derringers at a mark, and handed 
me one of the unloaded pistols, which he asked me to carry, 
as it incommoded him. At that time I spoke to him about the 
size of our train and our route, about which I had not previously 
talked, as he had said nothing, and I did not wish to force his 
confidence. It was, however, distinctly understood that w^e 
were going to Texas. I that day said to him that I did not 
believe we could get west through Mississippi, and that by 
rapid movements and a bold attempt by sea from the Florida 
coast, we were more likely to reach Texas safely and promptly. 
He replied : 'It is true; every negro in Mississippi knows me.' 
I also talked with Judge Peagan and Colonel Wood on this 
topic. The impression left on my own mind was, however, 
that Mr. Davis intended to turn west, south of Albany; but I 
had no definite idea of his purpose, whether to go by sea or 
land. Indeed, my scope of duty was simply to follow and 
obey him ; and, so long as I was not consulted, I was well con- 
tent to do this and no more. I confess I did not have great 
hopes of escape, though not apprehensive at the time of cap- 
ture, as our scouts, ten picked men, w^ere explicit that no Fed- 
erals were near and that pickets were out. Both of these were 



406 TSU DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLVMK 

errors. On the night of the 9th I was very much worn out 
with travel and watching, and lay down at the foot of a pine 
tree to sleep. 

"Just at gray dawn, Mr. Pavis's servant, Jim, awakened me. 
He said: 'Colonel, do you hear that firing?' I sprang up and 
said : ' Run and wake the President.' He did so. Hearing 
nothing as I pulled on my boots, I walked to the camp-fire, some 
fifty or less steps off, and asked the cook if Jim was not mis- 
taken. At this moment I saw eight or ten men charging 
down the road towards me. I thought they were guerillas, 
trying to stampede the stock. I ran to my saddle, where I 
had slept, and began unfastening the holster to get out my 
revolver, but they were too quick for me. Three men rode up 
and demanded my pistol, which, as soon as I got it out, I gave 
up to the leader, a bright, slim, soldierly fellow, dressed in 
Confederate-grey clothes. The same man, I believe, captured 
Colonels Wood and Lubbock just after. One of my captors 
ordered me to the camp-fire and stood guard over me. I soon 
became aware that they were Federals. 

"In the meantime the firing went on. After about ten min- 
utes, maybe more, my guard left me, and I walked over to Mr. 
Davis's tent, about fifty yards off. Mrs. Davis was in great 
distress. I said to the President, who was sitting outside on a 
camp-stool: 'This is a bad business, sir.' He replied, sup- 
posing I knew about the circumstances of his capture : 'I would 
have heaved the scoundrel off his horse as he came up, but 
she caught me around the arms.' I understood what he meant, 
how he had proposed to dismount the trooper and get his 
horse, for he had taught me the trick. I merely replied : ' It 
would have been useless.' 

"Mr. Davis was dressed as usual. He had on a knit woolen 
visor, which he always wore at night for neuralgia. He wore 
cavalry boots. He complained of chilliness, and said they 
had taken away his ' raglan ' ( I believe they were so called), 
a light aquascutum or spring overcoat, sometimes called a 
'waterproof.' I had one exactly similar, except in color. I 
went to look for it, and either I, or some one at my instance, 
found it, and he wore it afterwards. His own was not restored. 

" As I was looking for this coat, the firing still continuing, I 
met a mounted officer, who, if I am not mistaken, was a Cap- 
tain Hudson. Feeling that the cause was lost, and not wish- 



CLOS:B OF THE WAit. 407 

ing useless bloodshed, I said to him: 'Captain, your men are 
fighting each other over yonder.' He answered very positively : 
* You have an armed escort.' I replied : * You have our whole 
camp ; I know your men are fighting each other. AVe have 
nobody on that side of the slough.' He then rode off. Colonel 
Lubbock had a conversation nearly identical with Colonel 
Pritchard, who was not polite, I believe. You can learn from 
Colonel Lubbock about it. 

"Not long afterwards, seeing Mr. Davis in altercation with 
an officer — Colonel Pritchard — I went up. Mr. Davis was 
denunciatory in his remarks. The account given by Wilson 
is fabulous, except so far as Mr. Davis's remark is concerned, 
that * their conduct was not that of gentlemen, but of ruffians.' 
Pritchard did not make the reply attributed to him; I could 
swear" to that. My recollection is that he said in substance, 
and in an offensive manner, * that he (Davis) was a prisoner 
and could afford to talk so,' and walked away. Colonel Harn- 
den's manner was conciliatory, if he was the other officer. If 
I am not mistaken, the first offense was his addressing Mr. 
Davis as ' Jeff".,' or some such rude familiarity. But this you 
can verify. I tried just afterwards to reconcile Mr. Davis to 
the situation. 

"On the route to Macon, three days afterwards, Mrs. Davis 
complained to me with great bitterness that her trunks had 
been ransacked, the contents taken out. and tumbled back 
with the leaves sticking to them. 

" I had not seen Mr. Davis's capture. I was with him until 
we were parted at Fortress Monroe. Personally, I was treated 
with as much respect as I cared for. The officers were rather 
gushing than otherwise, and talked freely. Some were coarse 
men, and talked of everything ; but I never heard of Mr. 
Davis's alleged disguise until I saw it in a ISIew York Herald, 
the day I got to Fort Delaware. I was astonished, and denounced 
it as a falsehood. The next day I was placed in solitary con- 
finement, and remained there. I do not believe it possible that 
these ten days could have been passed with our captors with- 
out an allusion to it, if it had not been an after-thought or 

something to he kept from us. 

"Very sincerely yours, 

"Wm. Preston Johnston." 



408 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 



LETTER FROM EX-GOVERNOR LUBBOCK, OF TEXAS, LATE AIDE TO 
PRESIDENT DAVIS. 

" Galveston, August 2, 1877. 
"Major W. T. Walthall: 

" Dear Sir — Yours of the 28th came to hand a day or two 
since, finding me quite busy. At the earliest moment I perused 
the article you allude to in your letter, which appeared in the 
Weekly Times, of Philadelphia, of July 7th. It does really 
appear that certain parties, W'ith the view of keeping them- 
selves before the public, will continue to write the most base, 
calumnious, and slanderous articles, calculated to keep the 
wounds of the past open and sore. Such a writer now appears 
in General James H. Wilson, whose sole aim seems to be to 
that of traducing and misrepresenting the circumstances of 
the capture of President Davis and his small party, who, it 
would appear, were pursued by some fifteen thousand gallant 
soldiers, commanded by this distinguished general. I shall 
leave it to you and others better qualified than myself to reply 
to this 'Chapter of the Unwritten History of the War.' I 
have this, however, to say: I left Richmond with President 
Davis in the same car, and from that day to the time of our sepa- 
ration (he being detained at Fortress Monroe and I sent to 
Fort Delaware) he was scarcely ever ought of my sight, day 
or night. 

" The night before the morning of our capture Colonel Wil- 
liam P. Johnston slept very near the tent. Colonel John Taylor 
Wood and myself were under a pine tree, some fifty to one 
hundred feet off. Our camp was surprised just a while before 
day. I was with Mr. Davis and his family in a very few mo- 
ments, and never did see anything of an attempted disguise or 
escape until after I had been confined in Fort Delaware several 
weeks. I then pronounced it a base falsehood. We were 
guarded by Colonel Pritchard's command until we reached 
Fortress Monroe. I talked freely with officers and men, and 
on no occasion did I hear anything of the kind mentioned. 

"Judge Reagan and myself had entered into a compact that 
w^e would never desert or leave him, remaining to contribute, if 
possible, to his well-being and comfort, and share his fortune, 
whatever might befall. My bed-mate, Colonel John Taylor 



VLOSM OF THE' WAJi. 409 

Wood (one of the bravest and purest of men), having been a 
naval officer of the United States, and having been charged 
with violating the rules of war in certain captures made, 
deeming it prudent to make his escape, informed me of his 
intention and invited me to accompany him. I declined to 
avail myself of the favorable opportunity presented, telling 
him of my compact with Judge Reagan. He did escape. 

"The conduct of the captors on that occasion was marked 
by anything but decency and soldierly bearing. They found 
no preparation for defense, and encountered no resistance at 
all. Mr. Davis, Judge Reagan, Colonel William Preston Jolm- 
ston, Colonel John Taylor Wood, a young gentleman (a Mr. 
Barnwell, of South Carolina,) who escaped, and myself consti- 
tuted the President's party. Colonel Harrison, the private 
secretary of the President, and a few paroled soldiers, were 
with Mrs. Davis and party, protecting their little baggage, &c. 

"Upon taking the camp, they plundered and robbed every 
one of all and every article they could get hold of. They stole 
the watches, jewelry, money, clothing, &c. I believe I was the 
onh'- one of the party not robbed. 

"The man and patriot, who a few days before was at the 
head of a government, was treated by his captors with uncall- 
ed for indignity; so much so that I became indignant, and so 
completely unhinged and exasperated that I called upon the 
officers to protect him from insult, threatening to kill the par- 
ties engaged in such conduct. 

"I cannot see how ]\Ir. Davis could speak of Colonel Pritch- 
ard or his command with any degree of patience, as we all know 
that Mrs. Davis was robbed of her horses (a present from the 
people of Richmond), the money for which she sold her trink- 
ets, silverware, &c., was stolen, and no effort was made to have it 
returned to her. Time and time again they promised that 
the watches stolen on that occasion should be returned, that 
the command would be paroled, and the stolen property restor- 
ed to the owners; but it was never done, nor any attempt made, 
•"hat I can recall to my mind. 

" A Captain Douglas stole Judge Reagan's saddle, and used 
it from the day we were captured. 

" They appropriated our horses and other private property. 
But why dwell upon this wretchedly disagreeable subject? I 
hope and pray that the whole truth will some day be written, 



410 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL TIME. 

and I feel assured when it is done we of the South will stand 
to all time a vindicated people. As for him who is the target 
for all of the miserable scribblers, and of those unscrupulous 
and corrupt men living on the abuse heaped upon the South- 
ern people by fanning the embers of the late war — when he is 
gone from hence history will write him as one of the truest 
and purest of men, a dignified and bold soldier, an enlighten- 
ed and intelligent statesman, a man whose whole aim was to 
benefit his country and his people. 

"I know him w^ell. I have been with him under all circum- 
stances, and have ever found him good and true. How wretch- 
ed the spirit that will continue to traduce such a man! How 
miserably contemptible the party that will refuse to recognize 
Huch a man as a citizen of the country in whose defense his 
best days were spent and his blood freely spilt ! 

"I have the honor to be, yours very respectfully, 

"F. R. Lubbock." 

Postmaster-General Reagan wrote an exceedingly interesting 
account of the retreat and capture, and Hon. George Davis, 
Attorney-General, wrote also a very sharp reply to Wilson. 

Mr. Davis's own account in his book is of deep interest and 
value, and he wrote to his old friend and fellow-cadet at West 
Point, Colonel Crafts J. Wright, of Cincinnati, two letters of deep 
interest, which effectually disposed of the slanders against him. 
We regret that our space will not allow us to reproduce all of 
these. 

Nor have we space to go into the history of the Confederate 
treasure and what became of it, but those interested will find 
in the Southern Historical Society Papers a full statement of that 
question, and the most conclusive proof that any insinuation — 
from whatever source it may come — that Mr. Davis had one 
dollar of that gold, or ever derived the slightest benefit from 
it, is one of the basest calumnies that partisan malignity 
ever invented against even the vicarious sufferer of the Con- 
federacy. 



< , )j 




PARTING WITH HIS FAMILY. 

Mr. HXXIS TS REPRESENTED AS JUST ABOUT TO DISEMBARK FROM THE STEAMER CLYDE, WHICH 

bkought him and other prisoners from savannah to the casemate at 
Fortress Monrob. 



412 ' THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 



HIS IMPRISONMENT. 

Craven's " Prison Life of Jefferson Davis " gives so full and, 
in the main, accurate an account of this burning disgrace to 
this great country, that we prefer not to dwell on the details, 
but refer the reader to that book for the story of how he was 
ironed and treated in other ways such as only the refinement 
of brutal cruelty could invent. 

General Richard Taylor gives this account of his visit to the 
distinguished prisoner, which he obtained permission to do 
after a long waiting in Washington. He says : 

" By steamer from Baltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, 
and arrived at Fortress Monroe in the early morning. General 
Burton, the commander, whose civility was marked, and 
who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received me on 
the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await 
the time to see Mr, Davis. 

"It was with some emotion that I reachea the casemate in 
which Mr. Davis was confined. There were two rooms, in the 
outer of which, near the entrance, stood a sentinel, and in the 
inner was Jefferson Davis. We met in silence, with grasp of 
hands. After an interval he said, 'This is kind, but no more 
than I expected of you.' Pallid, worn, gray, bent, fee^ble, suf- 
fering from inflammation of the eyes, he was a painful sight to 
a friend. He uttered no plaint and made no allusion to irons 
(which had been removed) ; said the light kept all night in his 
room hurt his eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every 
two hours by relieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but 
matters had changed for the better since the arrival of General 
Burton, who was all kindness, and strained his orders to the 
utmost in his behalf. I told him of my reception at Washing- 
ton by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of the attentions 
of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish 
to see him, and that with such aid I was confident of obtain- 
ing permission for his wife to stay with him. I could solicit 
favors for him, having declined any for myself. Indeed, the 
very accident of position, that enabled me to get access to the 
governing authorities, made indecent even the supposition of 




AT FORTRESS MONROE. 
No. 1.— Exterior of Casemate in which Mr. Davis was confine^. 
No. 2.— General view of tlie Fort. 
No. 3.— Interior of the Casemate. 
No. 4.— Kevolutionaiy Relics. 



414 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

my acceptance of anything personal while a single man re- 
mained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; and 
therefore I had no fears of misconstruction. Hope of meeting 
his family cheered him much, and he asked questions about 
the conditions and prospects of the South, which I answered 
as favorably as possible, passing over things that would have 
grieved hin. In some way he had learned of attacks on his 
character and conduct made by some Southern curs, thinking 
to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I could not 
deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat 
and suffering was to develop the basest passions of the human 
heart. Had he escaped out of the country, it was possible he 
might have been made a scape-goat by the Southern people, 
and, great as were the sufferings that he had endured, they 
were as nothing to this, and too contemptible for notice; for now 
his calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that 
he derived consolation from this view. 

"The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing char- 
acter, and in the evening I returned to Baltimore and Wash- 
ington. After some delay Mr. Davis's family was permitted to 
join him, and he speedily recovered strength. Later I made a 
journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, on business connected 
with his trial, then supposed to be impending. 

"The slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so 
called, I was enabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thous- 
and fold. In the month of March, 1875, my devoted wife was 
released from suffering, long and patiently endured, originat- 
ing in grief for the loss of her children and exposure during 
the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that had gone 
before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin ere it was closed 
to look for the last time upon features that death had 
respected and restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came 
to my side and stooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when 
the tenderness of his heart overcame him and he burst into 
tears. His example completely unnerved me for the time, but 
was of service in the end. For many succeeding days he came 
to me, and was as gentle as a young mother with her suffering 
infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as he stood 
with me by the coffin." 

But of all of the tender and touching things that have been 
gaid about INIr. Davis none have been more appropriate and 



Ai 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 415 

beautiful than the address of the venerable and beloved Rev. 
Dr. Charles Minnigerode, the Rector-Emeritus of St. Paul's 
church, Richmond, who was through so many years the pas- 
tor of Mr. Davis, made in St. Paul's church, Richmond, on 
December the 11th, 1889. 

We will not mar the address but give it in full: 

ADDRESS OF DR. MINNIGERODE. 

"The first time I ever saw Jefferson Davis w^as when, as 
President of the Confederate States, he had arrived in Rich- 
mond and held his first reception at the Spotswood hotel. 
Our acquaintance, thus began, soon grew into friendly inter- 
course tliat became closer and closer, till an intimacy sprung 
up which ripened into companionship in joy and sorrow, and 
bound us together in terms of mutual trust and friendship 
that was to last as long as life, and which will remain forever 
one of my dearest remembrances. 

" The last time I saw him was a few years ago, when we met 
at Atlanta, Ga. I was going there with my wife to pay a visit 
to one of my sons, not knowing or remembering that the day 
of my arrival was the day when, on the occasion of the 
unveiling of the statue of Hon. B. H. Hill, Mr. Davis was to 
deliver the oration. On entering the city I wondered what 
the holiday appearance, the crowded streets, the festooned 
houses could mean, but was too late for the exercises. After 
dinner I went to call on him at Mrs. Hill's, where he was 
staying, resting at the time, and excused to visitors. But on 
seeing my name on the card the kind lady carried me to his 
room. As I entered the door and he looked up from the sofa 
where he was reclining, he sprang up, and, rushing upon me, 
clasped me in his arms, and there locked in each other's 
embrace, tears testified the depth of our joy once more to 
meet. An hour never to be forgotten by me! nor the solemn 
feeling that possessed us both at our parting, when, in sup- 
pressed voice, he said: 'This is the last time we have looked 
upon each other on earth.' 

"To you, dear brethren, and especially the rector, war- 
dens, and vestry of this church, and to the whole congrega- 
tion, I return my thanks, from the bottom of my heart, that 



116 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

you have honored me with the invitation to meet with you on 
this occasion and unite with you in doing honor to the memory 
of the great, the honored, noble son of the South — Jefferson 
Davis; that among the many proud tributes of praise and 
glory offered at his burial to-day, I, in my humble position of 
what proved to be his life-long pastor, may lay a wreath of 
loving remembrance on his tomb. 

" We humbly bow in human sorrow to the Divine Disposer 
of all things, but lift our hearts in holy hope that, from a life 
of toil and labor, and martyrdom, he has entered upon the 
rest in heaven, and obtained a crown brighter than any crown 
that earth can weave — the crown of glory and eternal life. 
These are strong words, but it is my firm belief, my brethren ; 
and I believe that on this point the evidences of my hope are 
stronger than, perhaps, those of any other man. I have been his 
pastor ever since the spring of 1861 ; been with him^through the 
eventful days of those many years of the war and the sad days 
that followed; known the struggles, the hopes, and fears of his 
inner life; saw him in his darkest trials; sounded his heart, laid 
open to me unreservedly, and beheld the man — the man him- 
self, the heart, disposition, character — in all his faith and purity 
and gentleness, all his weaknesses, as his firmness of principle, 
his untarnished honesty and unhesitating conscientiousness, his 
perseverance through every doubt and every difficulty, his con- 
quest of himself amidst the indignities he had to bear, his 
undying love to his neighbor, beginning with his own family, 
through all the gradations of the society in which he moved, 
his tender, generous feeling towards the poor and with bleeding 
heart toward his suffering people, true to his country, true to 
his God. Of course, he had his faults; he would not have 
been human without them; but it was just in the conflict with 
his failings and the reality of his repentance, the determina- 
tion to deal earnestly with himself, and not to be satisfied with 
'a name to live without the power;' just in these internal con- 
flicts, open to the eye of God, he was preserved from self- 
deception or spiritual pride, and was the humble petitioner for 
grace before the throne of God. Those lonely rides which he 
so often took, I am sure, were not only filled with anxious 
thoughts about his country and plans for the guidance and 
defense of his people, but I am convinced they often were the 
time of sweet, humble, trusting, prayerful intercourse with his 
Heavenly Father and his Saviour. 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 417 

"People have misunderstood Mr. Davis very much. Before 
I knew him I often heard him spoken of as a 'fire-eater;' but I 
am sure he did not deserve that name, unless it means the 
man, firm and bold and uncompromising, standing by what 
is right even unto death. No, he was no brawler, no dema- 
gogue, no friend to violence. It was a sore trouble to him to 
yield to what appeared to him at last the necessity of seces- 
sion ; and wrath, cruelty, bloodthirstin^ss were far from him. 
His real nature was gentle, and conscience ruled him supreme. 
Such was the sense of his responsibility, that whilst wdien it 
was plain, decided action, albeit the most dangerous, was 
needed, he never flinched; but such was his scrupulous con- 
scientiousness, that at times, when the issue was not clear, he 
would stay to weigh so fully the pros and cons that this delay 
at times may have interfered with a success. And I have rea- 
son to believe that it was his love and attachment for Rich- 
mond which caused him to confine the troops in the trenches, 
rather than give up his capital in time to meet the enemy in 
the open field while yet there was hope in Lee's army to cope 
with him. 

"I never meddled with his policy or measures of his govern- 
ment ; still less did I ever use his confidence for any personal 
purposes. Mr. Davis was not the man for that. 

"On two occasions only I sought him with the desire of pre- 
senting my views on what seemed to me important cases. 
The time had come for the permanent government to take the 
place of the provisional. It was a very critical time, and I 
felt I had a right to direct the attention of the President to 
some thoughts which any one had the right to give utterance 
to, and which I, as his pastor, could without impropriety lay 
before him. I did so, supported in my view by one of the 
most judicious men of Richmond, John Stewart, of Brookhill. 
It was this : We were starting upon a new epoch in the his- 
tory of the Confederacy. To start aright, and hope for any 
lasting success, we must have the favor of God, the King of 
Kings, and the God of battles. That was all acknowledged 
by us openly. Let us now, I wrote to him, do it in good earn- 
est! I reminded Mr. Davis that all history showed that the 
character of the ruler was apt to become the guide or pattern 
of the people; that the great lesson of the historical books of 
the Bible — the books of Kings and of Chronicles — was that 



418 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

* as the king, so the people ;' that evil examples, in the words 
of Jeremiah, 'made the people sin,' and that God's judgment 
will overtake both; whilst the people of Judah always re- 
pented and did right whenever their King adhered to the law, 
and Jehovah's blessing was upon both. From this I pressed 
his responsibility in this respect, and adjured him as such at 
this critical point manfully to assume this position, that as 
God alone can guide us aright and bless us, he should show 
the way and begin right by pressing this necessity of having 
God on our side on his people in the address he was to make 
from the Washington monument at the Capitol Square, and 
exhorting them to unite with him in the prayer for God's 
favor, and solemnly putting our welfare and success, as well 
as the means that should lead to it, under His holy and right- 
eous care and protection. 

"Mr. Davis never answered it, and in all my intercourse with 
him I never referred to it. But he did what I asked him to 
do. 

"The only other time I ventured to speak to him on the policy 
to be pursued was when, caused by some proclamation or some 
outrageous act on the part of our invaders, the people de- 
manded retaliation and the public papers loudly demanded 
this course. Our interview was most harmonious, and Mr. 
Davis used these noble words: *If our enemies do or should 
do wrong, that is no reason or excuse that we should do so, 
too.' 

"It was soon after his inauguration that he united himself 
with the church. Our intercourse had become more frequent, 
and turned more and more on the subject of religion; and by 
his wife's advice I went to see him on the subject of confessing 
Christ. He met me more than half way, and expressed his 
desire to do so, and unite himself with the church ; that he 
must be a Christian he felt in his inmost soul. He spoke very 
earnestly and most humbly of needing the cleansing blood of 
Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit ; but in the conscious- 
ness of his insufficiency felt some doubt whether he had the 
right to come. 

" All that was natural and right ; but soon it settled this ques- 
tion with a man so resolute in doing what bethought his duty. 
I baptized him hypothetically, for he was not certain if he had 
ever been baptized. When the day of confirmation came it was 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 419 

, quite in keeping with his resolute character, that when the 
Bishop called the candidates to the chancel he was the first 
to rise, and, as it were, lead the others on, among whom were 
General Gorgas and several other officers. 

" From that day, so far as I can know and judge, * he never 
looked back.' He never ceased trying to come up to his bap- 
tismal vow and lead a Christian life. And so he went on 
bravely and perseveringly, even when it became clear that 
hope of success was failing. He could not leave his post. He 
did not lose heart. The cause lost — defeated for a time — he 
felt sure would yet bring forth blessings upon the country. 

" "We know what followed and what was his cruel fate. Here 
opens a page of noble martyrdom and patient endurance which 
none can fully realize who have not seen it. 

"Soon after he was arrested and confined in Fortress Mon- 
roe, I wrote President Andrew Johnson, petitioning for per- 
mission to visit Mr. Davis, as his pastor, and minister to him. 

■'At Bishop Johns' advice — rather against my judgment — it 
h as accompanied by no argument, the Bishop saying, that sup- 
porting it by an argument would indicate that it was by the 
petitioner liimselt not looked upon as natural, right and proper 
in itself. 

" Mr. Johnson deigned no answer. 

"In October following I received a communication from some 
friends that they thought the time was favorable to again make 
the application. 

" I did so, but this time gave what I thought was a full and 
unanswerable argument. And it proved so. 

" They were ladies who were acting with me, and upon the 
advice of a judicious friend they gave my paper to Rev. Dr. 
Hall, rector of the Church of Epiphany and pastor of Mr. 
Stanton, Secretary of War. He first was adverse to acting in 
the matter, but the ladies begged him at least to read the peti- 
tion. He did so, and consented to take it in charge to Mr. 
Stanton, and he got me a very full permit to visit Mr. Davis as 
his pastor 

" From that tune I weni wnenever I coula to see my beloved 
and martyred friend, and precious were the days and hours 
spent with him. I loved that lowly, patient, God-fearing soul. 
It was in these private interviews that I learned to appreciate 
his noble Christian character; 'pure in heart/ unselfish, with- 



420 TBE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

out guile, and loyal unto death to his conscience and convic- 
tions. 

"Mr. Stanton's permit must have been very liberal, for 
General Miles, then in command, who received me politely 
enough, did not act for more than a day, after which he became 
very cordial and advanced all my wishes. He evidently had 
asked and received fuller instructions from the Secretary. 

"I must say here that the imprisonment itself was better 
than those who had ordered it. All at the fortress were glad 
that the indignities of putting that man in irons were stopped, 
even for the honor of the country. The officers were all polite 
and sympathetic, and the common soldiers — not one of them 
adopted the low practice of even high dignitaries and officers, 
who seemed to glory in speaking of him disrespectfully in a 
sneering way as ' Jeff. Davis.' Not one of the common soldiers 
but spoke of him in a subdued and kindly tone as * Mr. Davis.' 

" On my first visit I came on Saturday evening, and spent a 
pleasant enough evening at the headquarters of General Miles, 
who promised to take me to Mr. Davis's cell next morning 
(Sunday), but he waited till Monday morning. 

" I cannot describe my meeting wdth Mr. Davis in his cell. 
He knew nothing of my coming, and it was difficult to control 
ourselves. 

" Mr. Davis's room (he had been removed from the casemate,) 
was an end room on the second floor of Carroll hall, with a 
passage and window on each side of the room ; and an ante- 
room in front separated by an open grated door — a sentinel on 
each passage and before the grated door of the ante-room; six 
eyes always upon him day and night; all alone, no one to see, 
no one to speak to. 

" I must hurry on. You may yourselves make out what 
our conversation must have been. 

'• The noble man showed the effect of the confinement, but 
his spirit could not be subdued, and no indignit}^— angry as it 
made him at the time — could humiliate him. 

"I was his pastor, and of course our conversation was influ- 
enced by that, and there could be no holding back between us. 
I had come to sympathize and comfort and pray with him. 

" At last the question of the holy communion came up. I 
really do not remember whether he or I first mentioned it. 
He was very anxious to take it. He was a pure and pious 



CLOSE OF THE WAE. 421 

man, and felt the need and value of the means of grace. But 
there was one difficulty. Could he take it in the proper 
spirit — in the frame of a forgiving mind, after all the ill- 
treatment he had been subjected to? He was too upright and 
conscientious a Christian man ' to eat and drink unworthily,^ 
i. e., not in the proper spirit, and, as far as lay in him, in peace 
with God and man, 

"I left him to settle that question between himself and his 
own conscience and what he understood God's law to be. 

'' In the afternoon General Miles took me to him again. I 
had spoken to him about the communion, and he promised 
to make preparation for me. 

" I found Mr. Davis with his mind made up. Knowing the 
honesty of the man, and that there would be, could be, 'no 
shamming,' nor mere superstitious belief in the ordinance, I 
was delighted when I found him ready to commune. He had 
laid the bridle upon his very natural feeling and was ready to 
pray, 'Father, forgive them.' 

"Then came the communion — he and I alone, no one but 
God with us. It was one of those cases where the Rubric 
cannot be binding. It was night. The Fortress was so still 
that you could hear a pin fall. General Miles, with his back 
to us, leaning against the fireplace in the ante-room, his head 
on his hands, not moving ; the sentinels ordered to stand still, 
and they stood like statues. 

"I cannot conceive of a more solemn communion scene. 
But it was telling upon both of us, I trust, for lasting good. 

"Whenever I could I went down to see him, if only for an 
hour or two; and when his wife was admitted to see him it 
was plain that their communings were with God. 

"Time passed; not a sign of any humiliating giving way 
to the manner in which he was treated ; he was above that. 
He suffered, but was willing to suffer in the cause of the people 
who had given him their confidence, and who still loved and 
admired and wept for the man that so nobly represented the 
cause which in their hearts they considered right and con- 
stitutional. 

" His health began to be affected. The officers of the Fortress 
all felt that he ought to have the liberty of the fort, not only 
because that could in no way facilitate any attempt to escape, 
but because they knew he did not wish to escape, and could 



422 THE DAVIS MEMOEIAL VOLUME. 

not have been induced to escape. He wantQd to be tried and 
defend and justify his course. I happened to be in Washing- 
ton for a few hours at that time, and as I had been told by 
Rev, Dr. Hall more than once that Mr. Stanton spoke of me 
very kindly, he encouraged me to see him about any matter 
I thought proper in Mr. Davis's case. 

"I went to see Mr. Stanton, He had recently lost his son, 
and had been deeply distressed — softened, one would think ; I 
hope so all the more as I found him with his remaining child 
on his knees. I was admitted. A bow and nothing more. I 
began by expressing my thanks to him for allowing me to visit 
Mr. Davis, and that as I was in town, I thought it would 
not be uninteresting to him to hear a report about Mr. Davis. 
Not a word in reply. 

"I gradually approached the subject of Mr. Davis's health, 
and that without the least danger of any kind as to his safe 
imprisonment, he might enjoy some privileges, especially the 
liberty of the fort, or there was danger of his health failing. 

"The silence was broken. 

" ' It makes no difference what the state of Jeff. Davis's health 
is. His trial will soon come on, no doubt. Time enough till 
that settles it.' It settled it in my leaving the presence of 
that man. 

"But the time came for his release. The way he conducted 
himself just showed the man whom no distress could put down 
nor a glimpse of hope could unduly excite. He had seen too 
much and had placed his all iu higher hands than man's. 

"We brought him to the Spotsw^ood hotel, and then to the 
custom-house. There the trial was to take place. We were in 
a carriage, the people, and especially the colored people, testi- 
fying their sympathy. Mr. Davis was greatly touched by this. 

"All know that the proceedings in court were very brief. 

" I was by his side. Mr. Davis stood erect, looking steadily 
upon the judge, but w'ithout either defiance or fear. He was 
bailed, and the first man to go on his bond was Horace 
Greeley. 

"Our carriage passed with difficulty through the crowd of 
rejoicing negroes with their tender affection, climbing upon 
the carriage, shaking and kissing his hand, and calling out, 
'God bless Mars Davis.' But we got safely to the Spotswood 



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THE DAVIS BAIL BOND. 



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Thil wa^ nw^in^V?thi']^''V.T''f^ ^^® parties made their mark, which was duly attested 
S^e^orerras"s1ckirb§^d^'^a"^l?trsit'u;.^*'^"^"^ ^^^ nearly lost hiseyeright; and 



424 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"We found Mrs. Davis awaiting us, with Hon. George Davis, 
Attorney-General of the last Cabinet, and a few others. 

"Mr. George Davis and I just fell into each other's arms 
with tears in our eyes. 

"But Mr. Davis turned to me: 'Mr. Minnigerode, you who 
have been with me in my sufferings, and comforted and 
strengthened me with your prayers, is it not right that we now 
once more should kneel down together and return thanks?' 
There was not a dry eye in the room. Mrs. Davis led the way 
into the adjoining room, more private; and there, in deep-felt 
prayer and thanksgiving, dosed the story of Jefferson Davis's 
prison life. 

"Ah, this earth in more senses than one continued a prison- 
life for him; a feeling from which few of those advancing in 
life are wholly exempt. But Mr. Davis murmured not; did 
not ask to be taken away. He stayed and worked and studied 
and wrote in his home at Beau voir till the Lord called him — 
took his servant home who had tried to serve Him amidst 
danger and trials, wind and storms. He has gone to his 
reward. 

"And thou, oh, land of the South; oh, thou beautiful city of 
Richmond, thank God that such a man has been given to you, 
loved by you, and in his memory is blessed to you. He loved 
the truth ; he served God and his country. Let us go and do 
likewise." 

RELEASED ON BAIL. 

There was a desperate effort to "hang Jeff. Davis" on some 
trumped-up charge. 

First, it was the charge of complicity in the assassination of 
Mr. Lincoln, but they could find no evidence, even with a 
pack of trained perjurers at their call, on which Stanton and 
Holt dared to go into trial even before a military commis- 
sion. 

Then he was charged with cruelty to prisoners, but the Con- 
federate records were searched in vain, and stories of swift wit- 
nesses were canvassed in vain, to " make out a case" against 
him on which they could hope for a conviction. Poor Wirz, 
on the night before he was hung, was offered a reprieve if he 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 4"=^ 

"would implicate Jeff. Davis in the cruelties of Anderson ville;" 
but he bravely replied : " Mr. Davis had nothing to do with 
me, or with what was done at Andersonville, and I will not, 
even to save my own life, give false testimony against an inno- 
cent man." 

One of the most scathing replies which Hill made to Blaine, 
in the memorable debate to which we have before referred 
was, when quoting this reply of Captain Wirz to the tempter, 
he said : "And what poor Wirz would not do to save his life, 
the honorable gentleman from Maine does as a bid for the 
Presidency." 

Utterly failing in these charges they had to face the question 
of trying him for " treason," and a partisan judge packed a 
mixed jury (the first jury of whites and blacks ever empanelled 
in this country) who found an indictment of ''treason" against 
Jefferson Davis and R. E. Lee. 

General Grant "quashed" the indictment against Lee by 
holding that his "parole" protected him, but Judge Under- 
wood had a mixed petit jury empanelled to try Mr. Davis. 
[Our pictures of these juries are from original photographs, and 
are historic] 

The authorities at Washington, however, and Chief-Justice 
Chase himself, decided, after full consideration, and the con- 
sultation of the ablest lawyers in the country, that the charge 
of " treason" could not be maintained, and so the distinguished 
prisoner, who was anxious to go into trial and vindicate him- 
self and his cause before the M'orld, was admitted to bail, and 
finally a nolle prosequi was entered in the case. 

We give a fac simile of the bail bond with the autographs 
of the bondsmen, except that two of these gentlemen were un- 
able to sign their names on account of sickness. 

And our artist, W. L. Sheppard (himself a gallant Confede- 
rate soldier), was an eye-witness of the scene, and has given 
us a picture to the life of "Mr. Davis leaving the court-room." 



i 



4J6 TUB DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Throughout the Confederacy there was general rejoicing 
when it was announced that "the caged eagle" was once more 
free; but this rejoicing was mingled with deep regret that he 
had not been allowed his coveted opportunity to vindicate the 
Confederate cause in the courts of the country and in the hear- 
ing of the world. 




IN TSG I^IBKAIiY, 




<:m-^ 




LEAVING THE COURT-ROOM. 



XVII. 

HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 

A large volume might easily be written on the "Life of 
President Davis after the war" — his stay in Canada, his sev- 
eral visits to Europe, his life in Memphis, and especially his 
life at Beauvoir — giving the letters he wrote, and the speeches 
he made on public occasions. We venture to express the earn- 
est hope that Mrs. Davis in her proposed Memoir will treat 
fully this part of his life, and that her facile, graceful pen will 
give us a picture of his domestic life such as she alone is com- 
petent to draw. 

But we are able to barely touch on this most interesting 
part of his noble life, although we have interesting material 
which would fill a volume. 

We pass over the other periods — not even dwelling on his 
great sorrow in losing his only son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., who 
died of yellow fever when the plague smote that city with its 
fearful ravages — and speak briefly of his life at his home beside 
the Gulf. 

BEAUVOIR. 

" Catherine Cole " wrote in the New Orleans Picayune so beau 
tiful a description of Beauvoir, and a visit she paid there, that 
we quote a part of her letter, as follows : 

"Beauvoir house looks to be just what it is, the home of a 
quiet country gentleman, who would not exchange its roses 
and peace, its books and sunshine and treasures, for the gayest 
Queen Anne cottage that ever poked its parrot-like head and 
gaudy colors up above its neighbors in town or city, or seaside 
village. The house is set down in the centre of a great yard, 

1428] 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 429 

that in city parlance would comprise several squares of ground. 
It is a brown, sandy yard, in which the grass persistently 
declines to grow, but where, instead, are hundreds of magnolia, 
cedar, and oak trees, the latter hung, as a cave with stalactites, 
with the draperies of Spanish moss. It is a big white 
house with green shutters that sets up in the air on pillars of 
brick that has deep, cool galleries, reaching across the front 
and back, a great wide hall through the centre, and double 
rooms on either side. There is a wing on one side, and behind 
this the kitchen, trailing off covered with vines, and its spraw- 
ling pent roof hidden by a snow of roses. On either side the 
big house are detached cottages — little green and white and 
gray islands of wood entirely surrounded by galleries. In one 
of these, secure from intrusion, Mr. Davis wrote his history. 
All about under the trees, but respectfully retiring from the 
public view, are comfortable country-like out-buildings, barns 
and tool-houses, a sheep-shed and a corn-bin, a carpenter-shop 
for the peformance of rainy-day farm chores. Behind the 
house is a sweet, old-fashioned flower-garden, and beyond that 
a smart kitchen garden, with its black soil and thrifty rows of 
bright green vegetables. 

" Beauvoir house is one of those fine old houses set out with 
quaint and stately olden-timed furniture, rich in pictures and 
books and treasures that have been gathered from all parts 
of the world; a home that has grown mellow and beautiful 
with time, and which neither money nor desire can obtain. 
Old-fashioned lounges and round divans, and big rocking- 
chairs, and odd cabinets fill the wide hall. A grandfather's 
clock stands like a carved oak coffin on end, and the brass face 
looks out through the glass case upon a life with which it has 
nothing more to do. There are pictures on the tables and 
walls, and books and papers everywhere. A Turkish curtain 
as well as folding doors separate the front parlor from the back. 
The last is lined from the floor almost to the ceiling w^ith book- 
shelves, and the over-profuse books overflow into every room 
in the hous3. Rare paintings and portraits, including several 
of Rossetti's and a spirited pen-and-ink sketch of his wife pour- 
ing 5-clock tea, cover the walls and door-frames. Wild flowers 
crammed into beautiful vases, photographs lying loosely on the 
tables, a dainty modern chair or two strung with ribbons, an 
open piano, tell their own pretty story of the gracious, woman- 
ly presence that pervades this lovely old-fashioned home. 



430 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME 

" The home of Jefferson Davis is not less dear and interest- 
ing to the people to whom he is dear than it is full of sug- 
gestions and a fine example to the world at large. As I sat in 
that cool, sweet drawing-room with my gentle hosts and their 
winsome young daughter, who will not be affronted, I trust, 
if I thus declare her to be the brightest, gentlest, sprightliest 
young woman I ever lost my heart to, I could not but wish for 
half a minute that the mossy old roof above us might melt 
away and all the world look in on the singularly pure life 
that goes on at Beauvoir. Tall and thin and shrunken, with 
a high-bred, kindly face, and a wintry smile in his kind eyes — 
with silver white hair and beard, distinguished and remarka- 
ble in appearance, Mr. Davis sat leaning back in his arm- 
chair, his thin white hands clasped over his knee, and he con- 
versing with a gentle interest with his guests. With what a 
courtly gesture he turned to me as he spoke, how pretty was 
the way he stooped to kiss Flo? Shall I ever forget the pic- 
ture he made, leaning back in his big chair, in that quaint 
and beautiful old room ? He looked all he had been and all 
he is — the soldier, the statesman, the scholar, and the gentle- 
man of the old school. By his side sat his wife — a gracious, 
genial, white-haired woman, large-statured, large-minded, 
large-hearted, and no less distinguished looking than her hus- 
band — a woman born to a commanding position and one cer- 
tain to wield a great and good influence. Mrs. Davis is a 
deeply-learned woman; all the culture, polish, and brilliancy 
of her time is expressed in her thoughts and speech. To her 
almost more than to any other woman in the South may be 
applied that fine, old-fashioned compliment, 'to know her is a 
liberal education.' There, in this charming old house, hidden 
under the pine trees, its faded face looking out to sea, this hus- 
band and this wife are spending the last half of their lives. 
What books they could write if they would. What rich remin- 
iscences are theirs of the Old World and the New, of the great 
and distinguished men and women of both hemispheres. But 
they do not write books. They simply live a happy and 
peaceful life in the 'Beauvoir house,' entertaining many friends, 
reading much, doing all the good that comes their way; their 
home a place where hospitality might have had its birth; their 
lives full of beautiful cares and work. 

"And after a time the young daughter of the house led us 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 431 

out into the sunny, old-fashionod garden, trailing off forest- 
ward under the oaks. It was like the gardens we read about, 
with its odd little flower-beds and long, wandering walks, all 
set with mignonette. The wind that stirred the flowers was 
full of cinnamon odors and sweet with the breath of the 
unfashionable damask roses that grew in the far corners. 

"The tall, slim young lady in the dove-gray gown, her gentle, 
serious, yet happy face shaded by a broad-brimmed hat, went 
down the dewy walks with Flo, and they talked together as 
Twenty-Two does not often condescend to talk to Ten, and as 
they walked she snipped a bit here and a sprig there, fashioning 
a poesy for her small guest. How charming she looked bending 
over the bushes of blue-eyed periwinkles! I wonder could she 
have been more charming, even when she went North and cap- 
tured it? A girl who can entertain a room full of learned men, 
who is brilliant and thorough, bending her pretty brown head 
down to the level of the yellow one of the little child, and 
entertaining and charming her small visitor with the same 
grace and tact, was a pretty spectacle, a fit companion-piece to 
the quaint pictures of the book and picture-lined drawing-room, 
with its silver-haired host and hostess. How slim and graceful 
and bonny she looked as 

* With lightsome heart she pulled a rose, 
Full sweet upoa its thorny tree.' 

"Somehow the flowers were like the gentle girl-giver; they 
were the flowers that one loves to write of, to think on, to 
remember, and to treasure. There was a bit of lavender with 
its spiky leaves, rosemary more sweet than the breath of the 
incense that remains forever about the altars in old and long- 
used Catholic churches, a bit of yellow-blossomed rue, and 
some sweet-smelling, magenta-colored pinks. They were the 
flowers of nature, not those forced in conservatories. In her 
manners and simple, unaffected gentleness and kindness this 
young lady is as old-fashioned as her flowers. It is easy to 
understand her charm when it is also remembered that her 
mind has been most carefully trained, that all the advantages 
of foreign travel and education have been hers. 

"I know how wise she is, how many are her accomplish- 
ments, and, withal, how unaffected and honest and loyal she 
is. I am minded to say, too, that, in my opinion, if she and 



432 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

that other fair and brilliant young lady whose home is in the 
AVhite House had been allowed to meet, as both probably 
wished to, they would have flown into each other's arms, and 
neither would have remembered that one was born north and 
the other south of Mason and Dixon's line. 

" I am proud to think how our bonny, brilliant Southern 
girl went North and captured it. I like to recall how prettily 
she was received, with a hospitality that could not be excelled 
even at Beauvoir. I can think of her doing well, and acting 
wisely and honorably and nobly, and with a heart loyal to her 
home, her people, and her country in all places and at all 
times. I like to think of her in her tulle party dresses, or 
being led out to dinner by some great man whom it is an 
honor to know. But, somehow, I love best to think of her 
standing in her gray gown, knee-deep among her roses, gath- 
ering a nosegay of lavender and rue and rosemary in the 
sunny, sweet-scented garden that trails off with many a tangle 
of vine and bramble under the trees at the back of Beauvoir 
house." 

The following letter written by the author gives, perhaps, a 
more vivid account of a visit he made to Beauvoir in the sum- 
mer of 1886 than he could recall now, and it is inserted, there- 
fore, just as it was written at the time: 

A VISIT TO BEAUVOIR PRESIDENT DAVIS AND FAMILY AT HOME. 

BY J. WM. JONES. 

''Richmond, Va., August 1st, 1886. 

" A trip from Richmond to Beauvoir, by the Richmond and 
Danville route to Atlanta, the Atlanta, West Point and Mont- 
gomery to Montgomery, and thence by the Louisville and 
Nashville railway, is quick and comparatively comfortable, 
even at this season. Leaving here at 2 A. M. on Thursday we 
reached Beauvoir — a flag-station on the Louisville and Nash- 
ville, half-way between Mobile and New Orleans — at 4:40 P. 
M. Friday. 

"The first questions asked are, 'Where is Mr. Davis's house?' 
*Is Mr. Davis at home?' The grounds are pointed out as run- 
ning down to the station, the large vineyard of scuppernong 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 433 

grapes forming a pleasing contrast to the sighing pines around, 
and soon the large yard, shaded by live-oaks, is seen, and the 
dim outlines of the cottages and mansion, as we hurry along 
the road to the house of a relative on the beach, several hun- 
dred yards below. But I was greatly disappointed to learn that 
Mr. Davis had received a summons to his plantation up on the 
Mississippi river, and had left several days before. 

"I had, however, a very pleasant time — gazing on the beau- 
tiful Gulf, breathing its salt breezes, dipping in its brine, catch- 
ing fish every morning for breakfast, making some very pleas- 
ant acquaintances, etc. — and made a most enjoyable visit to 
Beauvoir, where Mrs. Davis and Miss Winnie entertained me 
in most agreeable style. 

"At this and subsequent visits I had ample opportunity of 
seeing the house and grounds. The house is a large, double- 
framed building, painted white, and contrasting very pleas- 
antly with the foliage in which it is embowered. A wide 
veranda runs around it, and a broad hall through the centre 
makes a very pleasant sitting-room in the summer. On either 
side of the main building, and a few yards from it, are very 
neat cottages, also white, and in the rear are ample and con- 
venient out-buildings. The house is very well furnished, 
mostly with handsome old furniture, the walls are adorned 
with some fine pictures — some of them copies of the master- 
pieces of the old masters — and the rooms are tastefully deco- 
rated with bric-a-brac and pretty ornaments, many of which 
are the products of the deft fingers and good taste of Mrs. 
Davis and her accomplished daughter. 

"Books, carefully selected from standard authors, adorn the 
tables or grace the shelves. In a w^ord, the stranger who knew 
nothing of the occupants would have only to glance through 
the rooms to see at once that this is an abode of culture, refine- 
ment, and taste. 

"The grounds are ample, the live-oaks and their hanging 
moss are very beautiful, the Gulf of Mexico laves the beach in 
front of the house, and is one of the most beaut-iful sheets of 
water that the sun shines upon. The grounds are very beau- 
tiful as they are, but are capable of great improvement, and 
one could not repress the wish that our honored Confederate 
chief had the means of making them all that his cultivated 
taste would suggest. 

28 



434 THE DAVIS MEMOBTAL VOLUME. 

" And yet it is a source of gratification to old Confederates 
that our great leader has this quiet retreat, where, away from 
the rushing crowd, on the soil of his loved Mississippi, breath- 
ing the healthful breezes of the Gulf that washes the southern 
shores of the Confederacy, in the shades of his own home and 
in the bosom of his family, he can spend the evening of his 
busy life, and fill out the record of his great duties and heroic 
deeds: But it ought to be added that his needed rest and quiet 
are often broken by visitors — loving admii-ers who are anxious 
to pay their respects and do honor to the greatest living Amer- 
ican — but too often mere curiosity -hunters, some of whom par- 
take of his hospitality and then go off to write all manner of 
slanders about him. 

*'I would not be guilty of drawing aside the veil that con- 
ceals from the world the privacy of the home, or parading 
before the public even the names of our noble women ; but the 
deep interest which our people take in all that concerns this 
noble family must be my excuse for saj^ing somethings which 
otherwise might not be admissible. 

"Those who knew Mrs. Davis in other days, as a Senator's 
or Secretary's wife, in Washington, or as 'Mistress of the White 
House' and 'first lady' of the Confederacy, in Richmond, would 
find no difficulty in recognizing her now; for, though time has 
WTOught some changes in her, she is the same bright, genial, 
cultivated, domestic woman, who is equally well qualified to 
grace the parlor, preside at a State dinner with historic men as 
her guests, attend to the minutest details of her housekeeping, 
or visit her neighbors, or look after the needy poor. 

"She is one of the finest conversationalists I ever met, and 
her recollections of society and events in Washington, in Rich- 
mond, and in Europe, and of the prominent men and women 
with whom she came in contact, are simply charming, and 
would make a book of rare interest were she disposed to turn 
her attention to authorship. Devoted to her husband, and 
taking a natural pride in his fame; an affectionate mother, 
who delights in her children and grandchildren ; affable and 
pleasant with her neighbors; a noted housekeeper and fine 
economist, and a charming entertainer of visitors, she strikes 
all who know her as worthy to share the fortunes and comfort 
the declining years of our chief, as she was worthy to share 
his honors and reign in society at Washington and at Rich- 
mond. 







^ 



fi^^-.^.^^- 




u-/ 



^Jt^-^y^ <v5 J> ^ / 'r^ o 



SIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 435 

■•oiiu speaks in the most cordial terms (as does Mr. Davis) 
of Richmond and Richmond people, and inquires very affec- 
tionately after some of her special friends. 

"Miss Winnie Davis, the single daughter, who was born in 
Richmond not long before the close of the war, is one of the 
most thoroughly educated, accomplished young women whom 
I have ever met. At the same time slie is simple, affable, and 
sweet in her manners, a brilliant conversationalist, a general 
favorite, and every way worthy of her proud lineage and happy 
inheritance as 'Daughter of the Confederacy.' 

"Mrs. Hayes, the only other living child, was on a visit to 
Beau voir, but was sick, and I had not the pleasure of seeing 
her; but I heard her spoken of in the warmest terms of admira- 
tion by some ol the neighbors. I saw her four sweet children — 
and what pets they were with their grandfather, wdiose love of 
children is one of his strong characteristics. 

"Returning from a several-days' trip to Meridian, I was 
delighted to find that Mr. Davis had returned from his plan- 
tation, had done me the honor of calling at my brother-in-law's 
to see me, and was awaiting my arrival. 

"Those who knew him in Richmond during the war might 
not recognize him at once, as over twenty years have left their 
impress upon him, and he now wears a full beard instead of 
being closely shaven as then. But the handsome face, the 
courtly grace of his bearing, the flash of his eagle eye, his 
cordial manners, genial humor, and almost unrivalled elo- 
quence of conversation, soon bring back the Confederate Presi- 
dent — the indomitable leader, the unflinching patriot, the high- 
toned, Christian gentleman, whom true Confederates will ever 
deliglit to honor. 

"Seventy-eight years of an eventful life are upon him, his 
health is not strong, and his physical powers begin to weaken ; 
but his intellect is as clear as ever, and his heart as warm as 
ever for the land he has loved so well, and for which he has 
toiled, and suffered, and sacrificed so much. 

"I shall not be guilty of betraying to the public the confi- 
dence of private conversation, as in this and subsequent inter- 
views, at his own home, he spoke freely of men and events and 
measures from that full knowledge and intimate acquaintance, 
and in that perfectly charming manner which make his lightest 
utterances of unspeakable value. 



436 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"But there are some things which I may, without impro- 
priety, write, and which I know will be of deep interest to our 
people. 

"Mr. Davis loves to talk of his home, the Gulf coast of Mis- 
sissippi and its advantages, his pictures, his books, questions 
in English literature, science, the arts, etc., in all of which he 
is perfectly at home and talks charmingly; his cadet life at 
West Point and the men he knew there, who were afterwards 
famous; the Mexican war and his services, of which he speaks 
very modestly, but the brilliancy of which all the world knows; 
his services in the United States Senate, and as Secretary of 
War, and the men with whom he came in contact while serving 
in these high positions; his travels abroad, etc. 

"But he seems to delight especially to talk of the Confed- 
eracy; its splendid rise, its heroic struggle, its sad fall, when 
'compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.' 
He seemed thoroughly familiar with the minutest details of 
all the departments of the government. He gave some very 
interesting details of experiments made while he was Secre- 
tary^ of War, on the question of whether to cast guns hollow 
or to bore them out from solid castings, and spoke of the laud- 
able pride with M'hich Rodman sought him when he had pre- 
pared some cannon-powder, and exclaimed, 'Eureka! Eureka!' 

"He gave a very interesting account of some experiments 
made by Professor Bartlett, of West Point, under his direc- 
tion, on the proper size and shape of bullets. The experiments 
failed, but last year at Beauvoir he got to thinking over it, and 
thought that he discovered the cause of the failure. 

"He at once wrote to Professor Bartlett, giving him his 
theory, but received from him a very kind reply, in which the 
Professor said that he was now too old and infirm to make 
new experiments, and that, besides, he had lost their original 
memoranda and calculations. 

" He spoke with commendable pride of what progress the 
Confederacy had made in creating material of war, until at 
the end of the struggle the best powder in the world was made 
at the Confederate mill under charge of General Rains. He 
said that while a prisoner at Fortress Monroe he was told that 
the powder which produced the best results in firing at iron 
plates was some of this powder captured from the Confederates. 

"He talked freely, and in the most interesting manner, of 




4 



'I 



^^ 1 \ 



I 
f 



I J 










O^ THE VEKANDA A'l BEAUVOIR. 



438 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the causes, progress,. and results of the war, and, while fully- 
accepting its logical results, he seems profoundly anxious that 
our children should be taught the truth, and that our people 
should not forget or ignore the great fundamental principles 
for which we fought. As for allowing the war to be called 
'The Rebellion' and our Confederate people 'Rebels,' he heart- 
ily repudiated and condemned it. *A sovereign cannot rebel,' 
he said, 'and sovereign states cannot be in rebellion. You 
might as well say Germany rebelled against France, or that 
France (as she was beaten in the contest) rebelled against 
Germany.' 

"He said that once in the hurry of writing he had spoken 
of it as 'the civil war,' but had never used that misnomer 
again. 

"He spoke of many of our generals and of the inside his- 
tory of some of our great battles and campaigns, telling some 
things of great interest and historic value, which I do not feel 
at liberty to publish now. 

" After speaking in the most exalted terms of Lee and Jack- 
son, their mutual confidence in each other, and their prompt 
cooperation, he said: 'They supplemented each other, and, 
together, with any fair opportunity, they were absolutely 
invincible.' He defended Jackson against the statement made 
by some of his warmest admirers (even Dr. Dabney in his 
biography) that he was not fully himself in failing to force 
the passage of White Oak Swamp to go to the help of A. P. 
Hill at Frazier's farm. He said that he thought that a care- 
ful study of the topography would show that Franklin's posi- 
tion was the real obstacle to Jackson's crossing. 

" He spoke warmly of the magnificent fight which A. P. Hill, 
afterwards supported by Longstreet, made that day — a battle 
which he witnessed — and told some interesting incidents con- 
cerning it. 

"Early in the day he met General Lee near the front, and 
at once accosted him with, 'Why, general, what are you doing 
here? You are in too dangerous a position for the com- 
mander of the army.' 

'"I am trying,' was the reply, 'to find out something about 
the movements and plans of those people. But you must 
excuse me, Mr. President, for asking what you are doing here, 
and for suggesting that this is no proper place for the com- 
mander-in-chief of all our armies.' 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAB. 439 

"'Oh, I am here on the same mission that you are/ replied 
the President, and they were beginning to consult about the 
situation when gallant * little A. P. Hill' dashed up and 
exclaimed, * This is no place for either of you, and, as com- 
mander of this part of the field, I order you both to the rear.' 

"'We will obey your orders,' was the reply; and they fell 
back a sliort distance, but the fire grew hotter, and presently 
A. P. Hill galloped up to them again and exclaimed : ' Did 
I not tell you to go away from here? and did you not promise 
to obey my orders? Wh)% one shell from that battery over 
yonder may presently deprive the Confederacy of its Presi- 
dent and the Army of Northern Virginia of its commander.' 
And with other earnest words he finally persuaded the Presi- 
dent and General Lee to move back to a more secure place. 

" Mr. Davis spoke in the warmest terms of praise of A. P. 
Hill. *He was,' he said, 'brave and skillful, and always ready 
to obey orders and do his full duty.' Reminding him that 
(General Hill was killed at Petersburg 'with a sick furlough in 
liis pocket,' having arisen from a sick-bed and hurried to the 
front when he heard that the enemy was moving, he said : 
'Yes, a truer, more devoted, self-sacrificing soldier never lived 
or died in the cause of right.' 

" Speaking in general of the Seven Days' battles around 
Richmond, he said that we accomplished grand results, and 
the failure to annihilate McClellan's army was due chiefly to 
the fact tliat when General Lee took command there were at 
headquarters no maps of the country below Richmond, and it 
was then too late to procure them, and tliat our array moved 
all tlie time in ignorance of the country and with guides who, 
for the most part:, proved themselves utterly iqeflicient. 

" He said that General Lee's object in the retreat from Peters- 
burg was to reach Danville, and then to unite with Johnston 
and crush Sherman before Grant could come up. 

" After General Johnston's surrender, his object was to reach 
the Trans-Mississippi department and see if he could rall}^ the 
forces there. And this he believes he could have accom- 
plished, as he knew every swamp along his proposed route, 
but he was turned aside by information that a band of rob' 
bers were about to attack his family, who were traveling on a 
different line. 

" He gave deeply interesting details of the foreign relations 



440 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

of the Confederacy, and of how near we were several times to 
recognition b}^ England and France. He spoke in the highest 
terms of praise of Captain Bullock's ' Secret Service of the 
Confederacy in Europe ' — a book which he thinks should be 
in every library — and said that the Confederacy had nothing 
to fear from the publication of all of its official correspondence. 

" He spoke in strong terms of the double dealings of Louis 
Napoleon, who, after inviting Mr. Slidell,the Confederate com- 
missioner, to have Confederate vessels built in France, and as- 
suring him that there would be no obstacle to their going out 
afterwards, went square back on his word (because of certain 
representations of Mr. Dayton, the United States Minister), and 
refused to allow them to go out. When he was in France 
after the war, the Emperor sent him word, that ' If he desired 
an interview with him he would be glad to grant it.' *But/ 
said the grand old chief of the Confederacy, ' I wanted no in- 
terview with the man who had played us false, and so I 
promptly replied that I did not desire it.' 

" He spoke of General Lee's high opinion of the ability of 
General Early as a soldier, and of his own emphatic endorsa- 
tion of that opinion, and said many other things of deep inter- 
est which I may not write now 

" He and his family were evidently deeply touched by the 
grand ovation accorded him at Montgomery, Atlanta, Savan- 
nah, etc., last spring, and I assured him that if he would accept 
the invitation which I bore him from Governor Lee to be present 
at the laying of the corner-stone of the Lee monument next 
October we would give him in the last capital of the Confeder- 
acy a welcome equally as warm — an ovation fully as imposing. 
He could not promise so long ahead what he could do, in view 
of his declining years and uncertain health, but said, 'There 
is no place I would rather visit than Richmond; no occasion 
I had rather be present upon than one that is to honor R. E. 
Lee. If possible I shall do myself the pleasure of going.' 

"I came away from Beauvoir with the highest gratification 
that I had had the privilege of seeing at his home, eating with 
at his table, and mingling in free social intercourse with the 
great statesman, the peerless orator, the gallant soldier, the 
stainless Christian gentleman, the devoted patriot, whom, with 
one voice, the Confederate States called to be their chief, who 
never betrayed their trust, but who was true in war, and has 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 441 

been true in peace — 'who did not desert during the war and 
has not deserted since.' 

"What true Confederate — what true citizen of any section of 
the country — can fall to join in the earnest prayer that 
Heaven's choicest blessings may rest upon that beautiful home 
at Beauvoir — that his last days may be his best days, and that 
he ma}" finally rest in peace, M'ear 'the fadeless crown of vic- 
tory,' and rejoice in the plaudit of the Great Captain — 'Well 
done good and faithful servant' — when he shall join Lee and 
Jackson and others of our Christian soldiers in that bright 
land where 'war's rude alarms' are never heard?" 

It may be added concerning Mrs. Davis that never was 
there a more devoted, helpful wife or mother. No public man 
ever had a wife who, by education, accomplishments, conver- 
sational powers, and domestic tastes and habits, was better 
fitted to fill the conspicuous places to which she was called. 
And no husband ever had a more devoted, self-sacrificing 
wife. 

When he was in prison she left no effort untried until she 
at last got permission to visit him, and share his hard lot* 
which she greatly brightened. And for all of the later years 
of his life she was his constant companion, his nurse in sick- 
ness, his amanuensis, his comforter, his help-mate in every 
sense of the term. 

And now, as the " Widow of the Confederacy," she has the 
warmest place in the hearts of old Confederates and of our peo- 
ple generally. 

May heaven's choicest blessings rest upon her and her chil- 
dren has been, and will be, the prayer that wells up from many 
a Southern heart. 

Mrs. Hayes is every way worthy of her noble lineage, and 
the future of her four sweet children (the boy, five years old^ 
has taken the name Jefferson Hayes Davis) will be watched 
with deep interest and fervent prayers that they may prove 
worthy of the heritage of honor and fame to which they have 
succeeded. 



442 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Miss " Varina Anne" has lost her real name, and is univer- 
sally called by the pet name — " Winnie" — which her father 
gave her. For years she was his almost constant companion. 
She read to him, wrote for him, studied books on military tac- 
tics that she might interest him in discussing campaigns 
and battles, and in many ways brought much of sunshine 
into his life. 

She is one of the most universally popular ladies we have 
ever known, and in visits to New Orleans, Memphis, Louis- 
ville, Mobile, Montgomery, Savannah, Atlanta, Richmond, 
Macon, New York, and other cities she never failed to capture 
the cities. 

The Richmond Dispatch gave a report of the presentation of 
a badge of " Lee Camp Confederate Veterans" to Miss Winnie 
on the 21st of September, 1886, at the Soldiers' Home, from 
which the following extract is given, in order to show the feel- 
ing towards President Davis and his accomplished daughter 
by the old soldiers of the Confederacy, a large number of whom 
were present : 

"As the carriage containing Miss Davis, escorted by General 
C. J. Anderson and Messrs. John and Clay Chamblain, drove 
on the grounds the veterans saluted her with a salvo of 
artillery. 

"General and Mrs. Terry, Captain Pollard, Commander 
Murphy, Captain John Maxwell, Major T. A. Brander, and 
other members of Lee Camp did the honors of the Home, and 
showed the grounds and buildings to the visitors. 

"At the appointed hour Governor Lee, accompanied by Mrs. 
Lee, drove up, and soon after the interesting ceremonies begun. 
Captain Maxwell introduced Governor Lee, who was received 
with loud applause, and proceeded to perform the duty assigned 
him of presenting to Miss Davis the certificate and badge. 

"Governor Lee felicitated the veterans of Lee Camp that 
they had among them the daughter of the great Confederate 
President, w^ho had guided with such ability, such unswerving 
patriotism, the fortunes of the Confederacy, and had borne 
Iiimself so bravely in the hour of adversity. 




MI8.S W 1 N N 1 I ■, DAVIS. ' 
(THE DAUGHTER OF TllK CONFEDERACY.) 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 443 

" The time has come, he said, when we could calmly look 
back on that great struggle, and, without disloyalty to the 
present order of things or our allegiance to the present govern- 
ment, do justice to the motives and deeds of the men who 
made it. It was on our part a square, honest fight for what 
we believed to be our ' inalienable rights.' 

"There was, said Governor Lee, a difference of opinion as to 
the interpretation of that constitution. We of the South, led 
by our ablest statesmen and some of the ablest statesmen of 
the North, believed that under the constitution we had a right 
to peaceably secede from the Union, and tried to do so. The 
people of the North, guided by the massive intellect of Web- 
ster and the opinions of Story and others of their leaders, 
believed that the Union was 'perpetual,' and the result was 
the fearful war which drenched the land in blood. 

" The men of the South have, he said, no sort of occasion to 
be ashamed of the part they bore in that conflict, and cer- 
tainly the veterans of this Home and of Lee Camp (most of 
whom served in the Army of Northern Virginia) have a heri- 
tage of glory of wliich they may well be proud, since they 
have written their names high up on the pillar of fame, and 
won a series of splendid victories which illustrated brightest 
pages of history, until at Appomattox — 'not conquered, but 
wearied out with victory' — they stacked their bright muskets, 
parked their blackened guns, and furled forever their tattered 
battle-flags. 

"Governor Lee congratulated the veterans that they had 
carried into the arts of peace and to the promotion of the inter- 
ests of the restored Union the same patient endurance and 
heroic courage which they had displayed on the battle-field. 
He then turned to Miss Davis, and in a few earnest and grace- 
ful words presented the certificate and badge, saying that if she 
was 'The Daughter of the Confederacy' these sons of the Confed- 
eracy could call her their sister, and would count it a high 
privilege to do so. 

" Miss Davis received the certificate and badge with a very 
graceful bow, amid the loud applause of the crowd, who had 
repeatedly applauded Governor Lee, and then Dr. J. William 
Jones, who had been chosen by Miss Davis to represent her, 
made the following response : 



444 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"I count it a great privilege and a high honor to be permit- 
ted to respond for our fair guest upon this occasion, and to con- 
vey to you, Governor, and through you to Lee Camp, her 
hearty thanks for the honor of being enrolled among their hon- 
orary members, her warm appreciation of this beautiful badge 
and certificate, which she will preserve among her cherished 
treasures as a souvenir of a 'red-letter day' in her life — a bright 
spot in her memory. 

"Born in the stormy days of war, rocked in the cradle of the 
Confederacy, and reared in an atmosphere where it is held to 
be no crime to have been true to the principles of constitutional 
freedom, she is loyal to the hallowed memories of the Confed- 
eracy, clings fondly to its traditions, cherishes its history, and 
loves and honors its brave defenders. How, then, can she be 
otherwise than deeply touched when these gallant veterans 
(who used to obey without question the orders of her distin- 
guished father — the President of the Confederate States and 
commander-in-chief of their armies — as they marched forth so 
gaily to illustrate the brightest pages of American history) 
come to honor 'The Daughter of the Confederacy' by enrolling 
her name among them, and choosing so w^orthy a knight as 
the distinguished Governor of the Commonwealth — 'our gal- 
lant Fitz' — to voice their wishes in making this presentation? 
Words fail me in attempting to express properly her feelings, 
and I can only say to you, Governor, and to the members of 
Lee Camp: Accept her warmest thanks. 

"And now I beg the privilege of adding just this word: It 
seems to me a happy augury that this 'Home' of our veterans 
opens its doors this bright and beautiful afternoon to the daugh- 
ter of our grand old Chief, and I am sure that all will join me 
in breathing the fervent prayer that Heaven's choicest bless- 
ings may abide here, and also upon that home beside the Gulf 
— that the love of a grateful people may ever be theirs, and 
that peace, prosperity, and true happiness may be forever the 
portion of our noble Chief and of the immortal heroes who fol- 
lowed him to deeds of fadeless glory for the land and cause 
they loved so well and served so faithfully," 

" Major T. A. Brander, in words few and fit, then presented 
Miss Davis, on behalf of the veterans of the Home, with a beau- 
tiful bouquet which he said was composed of flowers raised on 
the grounds by the tender care of the veterans. 



MIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 445 

"Governor Lee then led Miss Davis to the front, and the 
veterans crowded forward and shook hands with her. 

" She was dressed with exquisite taste, wore the badge of the 
Army of Northern Virginia and several other military badges 
with which she had been invested, and impressed all who saw 
her with the dignity and queenly grace ot her bearing and 
by the cordial greeting she gave to each of the veterans. 

"It was whispered all around, 'She is worthy of her proud 
lineage and high position,' and the veterans especially seemed 
deliglited with her reception of them. 

" The badge is the regular badge of Lee Camp, beautifully 
gotten up and suitably engraved. 

" The whole occasion was one of deep interest, and was 
heartily enjoyed by the large crowd present." 

During the years after the war Mr. Davis did not very often 
appear in public — both his health and his disinclination to 
take part in public meetings forbidding — but upon some notable 
occasions he was the central figure. He presided over the 
great Lee Memorial meeting in Richmond in November, 1870, 
and spoke at the convention that assembled at the Mont- 
gomery White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, in August, 1874, to 
reorganize the Southern Historical Society ; at the unveiling 
of the Stonewall Jackson monument, in New Orleans ; at the 
great Southern Historical Society meeting, in New Orleans; 
at the unveiling of the Albert Sidney Johnston monument 
there; at the laying of the corner-stone of the Confederate 
monument in Montgomery ; at Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, and 
other places. 

We deeply regret to find that our limited space will prevent 
us from giving these speeches as w'e had intended. 

But we must make a place for the following speech which 
he delivered under very peculiar circumstances. At a ban- 
quet given by the Louisiana division of the Army of North- 
ern Virginia Association, December 6th, 1878, when none but 
Confederate soldiers were present, and it was announced that 
reporters had been excluded, that there would be no report in 



446 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

the papers of the speeches made, and that each speaker was 
expected to say what he pleased, Mr. Davis made the following 
speech which has never been in print, but which was taken 
down in short-hand at the time, and for a copy of which we 
are indebted to Captain John H. Murray, the then secretary of 
the association. 

Northern readers, after all they have been taught of the bit- 
terness of Mr. Davis to the North, will be surprised at the fra- 
ternal tone of this speech made under the circumstance. 

SPEECH AT AEMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA BANQUET. 

" Mij Friends and Soldiei^s of the Confederacy : 

" I am glad to meet so many of you assembled here, to know 
that you are still marching shoulder to shoulder, and that you 
still keep step to those bonds of fraternity which you learned 
ui)on the field of battle and in the camp, where suffering, 
danger, and death were confronted hourly by you. 

"And while the battle ebbed and flowed; while victory at 
one time rose and defeat followed it with crushing force, still 
there was one thing which never faltered — the courage, the 
honor, the fidelity of the Confederate soldier. 

" Political unions are the result sometimes of traditions, some- 
times of a community of interests, sometimes of the force of 
outward pressure creating the necessity to band together to 
resist the force which is on the outside. 

" But there is a fraternity which is closer than these — it is 
that fraternity which is formed around the camp-fire, which is 
formed between the wounded soldier and his attending com- 
rades, which is formed between the men who are rushing to 
see who shall be first in the breach and who shall be last to 
leave; 

" This is the rivalry that bound men together when they 
were struggling few against many, when, as it has been de- 
scribed to you by General Early, they stood up and faced the 
foe one to five, and still manfully held the line against that 
overwhelming force. Louisiana was there. Her noble Drew 
with his little battalion was among the first who confronted 
that powerful force on the Peninsula. Louisiana was there — 
ah! Louisiana was everywhere where blood was to be shed in. 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 447 

the maintenance of truth and Hberty and the rights she had 
inherited. She sent her sons to Virginia not to battle for Vir- 
ginia — not to battle for the Confederacy merely, but to battle 
for something which was higher and brighter than these and 
all else, to battle for truth and political rights, the liberty of 
her sons and the inheritance their fathers had bequeathed to 
them, 

"It is always to me a great pleasure to meet a Confederate 
soldier, and before he tells me what he is, I think I can recog- 
nize him by the thrill of his grasp. Trained to truth and 
duty, tried in temptation, and tempered by distress, they came 
forth the pure gold from the forge. And while we now 'ac- 
cept the situation' in the language of the day — 3^et as Bill Arp 
said, though thoroughly reconstructed, ' I will bet my last dol- 
lar on Dixie.' 

"We are now at peace, and I trust will ever remain so. We 
have recently been taught that those whom we had considered 
enemies, measuring them by standard bearers whose hearts 
were filled with malignity, that they in our hour of trouble 
had hearts beating in sympathy with our grief. We have 
been taught by their generosity that bounded with quick re- 
sponse to the afflictions of the South, that the vast body of peo- 
ple at the North are our brethren still. 

" And the heart would be dead to every generous impulse 
that would try to stimulate in you now a feeling of hostility 
to those where so large a majority have manifested nothing 
but brotherly love for you. 

"In referring, therefore, to the days of the past and the glori- 
ous cause you have served — a cause that was dignified by the 
honor in which you maintained it — I seek but to revive a 
memory which should be dear to you and pass on to your 
children as a memory which teaches the highest lessons of 
manhood, of truth, and of adherance to duty — duty to your 
State, duty to your principles, duty to the truth, duty to your 
buried parents, and duty to your coming children. 

"I thank you, friends." 

Among the large number of letters which lie wrote at this 
period, we select as examples only two — one to the ladies of 
the Confederate Monument Association, and the other com- 



448 THE DA VIS ME3I0BIAL VOL UME. 

plaining of mistakes made in a biographical sketch — regret- 
ting that we have not space for others, as he was a very 
accomplished letter writer. 

"Beau VOIR, Miss., May 21, 1888. 
*' Ladies of the Confederate Monument Association of Mississippi : 

" I duly received your gratifying invitation to my family and 
myself to be present at the laying of the corner-stone of the 
monument to commemorate the dead of Mississippi who died 
for the State. 

"This acknowledgment has been delayed under the hope 
that my health would so improve as to enable me to partici- 
pate in the' ceremony. 

" The earnest desire to be with you on the occasion led me 
to hope against the better judgment of others that I might be 
physically able to join in the work which is very near to my 
heart. The monument will be the first reared by Mississippi 
to her sons, who at the call of their mother forgot all selfish 
cares and went forth, if need be, to die for her cause. This 
omission cannot be ascribed to the absence of meritorious 
claims to such consideration, for Mississippians have neither 
been of the war party in peace nor of the peace party in war. 
In the territorial infancy of our State, when the population was 
mainly confined to a few river counties, the Indian war with its 
characteristic ferocity, was ravaging the frontier settlements. 
At the cry of the helpless, Mississippians rushed to arms, 
though few and illy prepared for war. Among the earliest of 
my memories was the grief of our people because of the mas- 
sacre at Fort Mimms, where many of our neighbors died in the 
fulfillment of that noblest motive of human action which 
causes one to give his life that others may live. No monument 
for the instruction of the rising generation commemorates 
the event, and the commonly used school-books are devoted 
to Northern history. 

"At Pensacola or Fort Bower, and in the battle of New Or- 
leans, Mississippi bore an honorable part. Your monument 
will stand in the county of Hinds, the jiame of the leader of 
the Mississippi dragoons, whose conduct in the battle of New 
Orleans was commended in general orders for the admiration 
of one army and the wonder of the other. 



4li 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAB. 449 

» 
"At a later day when Mississippi was sent a requisition for 
troops to serve in the war between the United States and 
Mexico, the difficulty was not to get the requisite number of 
companies, but to discriminate among those offering in excess 
of the numbers which would be received. An attempt was 
made to build a monument to those who fought and died in a 
foreign land, but it failed. If asked why ? The reason is on 
the surface. It was not woman's work. 

"Daughters of Mississippi, you have labored in a cause the 
righteousness of which only he can deny whose soul is so 
devoid of patriotism that in his country's strife he could give 
aid and comfort to the enemy. It would have been a great 
gratification to me to stand among the survivors of the Mis- 
sissippi army and in laying the corner-stone of the monument 
to their deceased comrades to recall their virtues, the mingled 
attributes of the hero and saint. Please be assured that in 
spirit I shall be with you. For the zeal with which you have 
faced all discouragement, and the devotion you have shown to 
the purpose, which had only its merits for its reward, I pray 
you to accept from the inmost fibre of his heart the thanks of 
an old Mississippian. Faithfully, Jefferson Davis." 

"T. K. Oglesby, Esq.: 

" My Dear Sir — The set of Appleton's Cyclopedia of American 
Biography which you ordered sent to my address has been 
received. I am not the less thankful to you for your kind 
attention because I cannot give to the work more than a par- 
tial approval. I very naturally turned to the article which I 
contributed upon Zachary Taylor, and which I was compelled 
to compress to bring it within the prescribed limit; but I found 
the article had been expanded by the addition of matter in 
regard to his family, which was so inaccurate that I was sorry 
to have it annexed to what I had written, my consolation being 
that no member of the Taylor family would believe me to be 
the author of the addition. 

"My next examination was of the article 'Davis (Jefferson).' 
Here I found the baseless scandal of a romantic elopement 
revived and reprinted, and all» along through that article flowed 
the misrepresentations current in Northern prints, and attri- 
buting to me things I never said, of which I am quite sure, 
29 



450 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

because they were things I never thought. There is no fitness 
in my writing to you a full criticism of a work which seems 
to me guided and inspired by narrow sectionalism, but you 
will allow me to add, for your kind attention, I am and shall 
remain very gratefully yours, Jeffeeson Davis." 

We close this chapter with the following brief, but char- 
acteristic, and significant 

ADDRESS BEFORE THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE, MARCH 10, 1884. 

"Friends and Brethren of Mississippi : 

*'In briefest terms but with deepest feelings, permit me to 
return my thanks for the unexpected honor you have con- 
ferred upon me. Away from the political sea, I have in my 
secluded home observed with intense interest all passing events 
affecting the interest or honor of Mississippi, and have rejoiced 
to see in the diversification of labor and the development of 
new sources of prosperity and the increased facilities of public 
education, reason to hope for a future to our State more pros- 
perous than any preceding era. The safety and honor of a 
republic must rest upon the morality, intelligence and patriot- 
ism of the community. 

"We are now in a transition state, which is always a bad 
one, both in society and in nature. What is to be the result 
of the changes which may be anticipated it is not possible to 
forecast, but our people have shown such fortitude and have 
risen so grandly from the deep depression inflicted upon them 
that it is fair to entertain bright hopes for the future. Sec- 
tional hate, concentrating itself upon my devoted head, deprives 
me of the privileges accorded toothers in the sweeping expres- 
sion of ' without distinction of race, color or previous condition,' 
but it cannot deprive me of that which is nearest and dearest 
to my heart, the right to be a Mississippiali, and it is with 
gratification that I receive this emphatic /recognition of that 
right by the representatives of her people. Reared on the 
soil of Mississippi, the ambition of my boyhood was to do 
something which would redound to the honor and welfare of 
the State. The weight of many ;f ears admonishes me that my 
day for actual services has passed, yet the desire remains undi- 
minished to see the people of Mississippi prosperous and happy, 
and her fame not unlike the past, but gradually growing 
wider and brighter as the years roll away, y 



HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 451 

* It has been said that I should apply to the United States for 
a pardon ; but repentance must precede the right of pardon, 
and I have not repented. Remembering as I must all which 
has been suffered, all which has been lost, disappointed hopes 
and crushed aspirations, yet I deliberately say : If it were to do 
over again, I would do just as I did in 1861. No one is the 
arbiter of his owft fate. The people of the Confederate States 
did more in proportion to their numbers and means than was 
ever achieved by any in the world's history. Fate decreed 
that they should be unsuccessful in the effort to maintain their 
claim to resume the grants made to the federal government. 
Our people have accepted the decree; it therefore behooves them, 
as they may, to promote the general welfare of the Union, to 
show to the world that hereafter as heretofore the patriotism 
of our people is not measured by lines of latitude and longi- 
tude, but is as broad as the obligations they have assumed 
and embraces the whole of our ocean-bound domain. Let 
them leave to their children and their children's children the 
good example of never swerving from the path of duty, and 
preferring to return good for evil rather than to clierish the 
unmanly feeling of revenge. But never teach your children 
to desecrate the memory of the dead by admitting that their 
brothers were wrong in their effort to maintain the sovereingty, 
freedom and independence which was their inalienable birth- 
right. Remembering that the coming generations are the 
children of the heroic mothers whose devotion to our cause in 
its darkest hour sustained the strong and strengthened the 
weak, I cannot believe that the cause for which our sacrifices 
were made can ever be lost, but rather hope that those who 
now deny the justice of our asserted claims will learn from 
experience that the fathers builded wisely and the constitution 
should be construed according to the commentaries of the 
men who made it. It having been previously understood that 
I would not attempt to do more than return my thanks, which 
are far deeper than it would be possible for me to express, I 
W'ill now. Senators and Representatives, and to you, ladies and 
gentlemen, who have honored me by your attendance, bid you 
an affectionate, and, it may be, a last farewell." 



XVIIL 



ANALYSIS OF HIS CHARACTER. 

And now, in concluding this "outline," it only remains for 
us to give a brief analysis of his character, and we cannot bet- 
ter do so than by reproducing the following from our pen 
which appeared in the Richmond Dispatch the day after Mr. 
Davis died. 

"JEFFEKSON DAVIS, THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER, STATESMAN, AND 
PATRIOT — BY REV. J. WILLIAM JONES, D. D. 

"Atlanta, Ga., December 6. 

*• The death of an old man who has more than lived out his 
four-score years would ordinarily excite but a passing interest. 
But the death of this great man who for so many years was a 
prominent figure in American history, who was a born leader 
of men, who has been a central figure in the most stirring 
events ever enacted on this continent, and who has borne him- 
self as grandly in peace as in war, in the shades of retirement 
as in the bustling activities of public life — the death of such a 
man will attract universal attention, elicit general comment, 
and recall incidents of interest not only in this country, but in 
the civilized world as well. 

"Other pens will give detailed sketches of his eventful life, be 
it mine only to recall here some personal reminiscences of the 
man as I knew him, and honored him, and loved him, and to 
give a brief outline of his character which was well worthy of 
the careful study and imitation of our young men. 

"I first saw President Davis on the field of First Manassas. 
Having the honor of being at that time 'high private in the 
rear rank' of the famous old Thirteenth Virginia regiment, 
which (in the brigade commanded first by Kirby Smith, and 
after he was wounded by Colonel Arnold Elzey) came on the 

[452] 



ANAL YSIS OF HIS CIIA RA CTER. 453 

field at the supreme crisis of the battle, we saw a great stir and 
heard vociferous cheering near the Lewis house, and were soon 
permitted to join in the general enthusiasm with which we 
greeted ' our President.' 

"As I recall him as he appeared that day, sitting his 
horse with the easy grace of the trained horseman, I endorse 
the description of him given by a writer who saw him in a 
memorable scene in the United States Senate not long before: 

"In face and form Davis represents the Norman type 
with singular fidelity if my conception of that type be correct. 
He is tall and sinewy, with fair hair, gray eyes, which are 
clear rather than bright, high forehead, straight nose, thin, 
compressed lips, and pointed chin. His cheek-bones are hol- 
low, and the vicinity of his mouth is deeply furrowed with 
interesting lines. Leanness of face, length and sharpness of 
feature, and length of limb, and intensity of expression, ren- 
dered acute by angular facial outline, are the general charac- 
teristics of his appearance. 

"It was upon that memorable day at Manassas that T. J. 
Jackson, who had just won his soubriquet of 'Stonewall,' is 
reported to have pushed aside the surgeons who were dressing 
his wounds and to have exclaimed, tossing his old gray cap in 
the air: 'There comes the President. Hurrah for the Presi- 
dent! Give me ten thousand men and I will be in Washington 
to-night.' 

"And there can be but little doubt that if the President had 
known 'Stonewall' ['Thunderbolt,' 'Tornado,' or 'Cyclone' 
would have been a much more appropriate soubriquet for him] 
as well then as he knew him afterwards, that he would have 
given him the men, for it is now a part of the history of that 
great victory that, so far from stopping the pursuit of the routed 
enemy (as was falsely reported at the time), President Davis 
was exceedingly anxious to push them across the Potomac, 
and at one time issued a peremptory order to that effect, which 
was only countermanded at the earnest request of Generals 
Johnston and Beauregard. 

"The next time I saw President Davis was during the 
'seven days' battles around Richmond,' during which that 
pleasing incident occurred of his gently rebuking General Lee 
for being so far to the front as to endanger his valuable life, 
and was in turn mildly chided by the General for 'risking the 



454 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

life of the President of the Confederacy/ when 'gallant little 
A. P. Hiir (as Mr. Davis called him) dashed up and exclaimed: 
'This is no place for either of you, and as commander of this 
part of the line I order you both to the rear!' 

"'We will obey orders/ was the laughing reply, as they fell 
back a short distance and began an earnest conference about 
'the situation.' 

"But the fire becoming very hot A. P. Hill galloped up to 
them again and exclaimed: 'Did I not tell you to go away 
from here, and did you not promise to obey my orders? Why, 
one shell from that battery over yonder may presently deprive 
the Army of Northern Virginia of its commander and the 
Confederacy of its President.' And with many other earnest 
words he finally persuaded the President and General Lee to 
move back to a more secure place. 

"I was exceedingly fortunate during those seven days of 
battle in seeing a number of our leaders, and I have indelibly 
photographed on my memory their appearance, dress, equip- 
ment, and bearing. 

"Lee, the superb, mounted on Traveler, calm, dignified, alert, 
and every inch the soldier; old Stonewall, of rather ungainly, 
awkward figure, clad in dingy gray and mounted on ' Little 
Sorrel/ sucking a lemon, and seeming very impatient that the 
battle should begin; 'Jeb' Stuart in his 'fighting jacket/ 
rattling sabre, and jingling spurs, superbly mounted, and his 
very appearance denoting what he abundantly proved that he 
was indeed, 'the flower of cavaliers;' stern old Ewell, who 
cared little for dress or equipment, but had proven himself 
' Jackson's right arm ' in his brilliant Valley campaign ; A. P. 
Hill, dressed in a fatigue jacket of gray flannel, his felt hat 
slouched over his noble brow, sitting his beautiful charger with 
easy grace, and glancing with eagle eye along his famous 
' Light Division' as it hurried into battle, was the heau ideal of 
a soldier ; and scores of others of subordinate rank who were 
just beginning to ' win their spurs,' and formed a galaxy of 
chivalrous knights such as were rarely, if ever, congregated 
on the same battle-field. 

"But I do not hesitate to say that the accomplished horse- 
manship, the martial bearing, the general appearance of 'our 
President,' as he was greeted with the enthusiastic cheers of 
the soldiers, impressed me as deeply as any of the grand men 



ANAL YSIS OF HIS CHAR A CTEB, 455 

I saw on. those fields of carnage, and made me feel then, what 
a subsequent study of his career has made me knoiu, that Jef- 
ferson Davis was a born soldier, and that his brilliant career 
in the Mexican war was but a prophecy of what he would 
have been had he been able to carry out his own cherished 
desire to serve the Confederacy in the field instead of in the 
presidential chair. 

" After this I saw Mr. Davis several times in Richmond, but 
had never heard him speak until at the famous mass-meeting at 
the Old African church in Richmond after the Confederate 
commissioners had returned from the * Hampton Roads Confer- 
ence' and made as their report that the government at Wash- 
ington would grant no terms but 'unconditional submission.' 

"I had heard a great deal of and had formed a very high 
estimate of Mr. Davis as an orator. I had read some of his 
speeches in the United States Senate, and especially his chaste 
and eloquent 'Farewell to the Senate.' I had read his inau- 
gural address and a number of his other addresses to soldiers 
and citizens. 

"But I must confess that I was not prepared for his speech 
upon that occasion, which rang out like a clarion-call to bat- 
tle, and so touched and thrilled and swayed the vast multitude 
composed largely of soldiers, that we not only cheered him to 
the echo until we were hoarse, but were ready to follow to the 
death whenever he should lead. I have ever since that -day 
regarded that speech as the grandest oratorical triumph I ever 
heard, and have placed Mr. Davis among the great orators of 
history. 

"The next time I heard him speak was at the great soldiers' 
Lee memorial meeting, held at the First Presbyterian church 
iu Richmond in November, 1870. 

"About three years before the 'caged eagle' had been re- 
leased from prison, and he came to Richmond to preside over 
the meeting called by the old soldiers of Lee to do honor to 
their old commander who had died several weeks before. 

"It was a grand occasion, and there assembled the most 
brilliant galaxy of Confederate soldiers that has gathered since 
the war. Generals Early, John B. Gordon, John S. Preston, 
and Henry A. Wise, and Colonels Charles S. Venable, Charles 
Marshall, William Preston Johnston, and R. E. Withers were 
among the speakers, and all of them made touchingly beauti- 



456 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

ful tributes to Lee. But Mr. Davis, it is no disparagement to 
others to say, made unquestionably the speech of the occasion, 
and was received with a genuine enthusiasm, an irrepressible 
outburst of applause and cheers, and a tender respect which 
showed that he still held the warmest place in the hearts of 
his old soldiers. 

" The only other occasion upon which I ever heard him 
speak was at New Orleans at the unveiling of the statue of 
Stonewall Jackson, erected by the Louisiana Division Army of 
Northern Virginia. General Fitz Lee was the orator of the 
day, and acquitted himself (as ' our gallant Fitz' always does) 
very handsomely. Mr. Davis was on the platform, a deeply 
interested listener, and had declined on account of his health 
the invitation of the committee to speak. But the crowd called 
for him so vociferously and persistently that he at last arose, 
was received with deafening cheers, and for about twenty 
minutes thrilled the vast crowd with a eulogy on Jackson 
which deserves a place among the gems of true oratory. I 
suppose that the calm verdict of history will be that Jefferson 
Davis stands in the very fore-front of American orators. 

" As a writer of terse, chaste, vigorous, classic, Anglo-Saxon 
English, he has had few equals and no superior among all of 
our public men. 

"His reports when Secretary of War — his messages, procla- 
mations, and other State papers when President of the Confede- 
racy — his 'Rise and Fall of the Confederate States' — his occa- 
sional articles for magazines, reviews, or newspapers, and his 
letters should be carefully studied as models of 'English unde- 
filed' as well as for the great truths taught and the great prin- 
ciples vindicated. He was especially charming as a letter 
writer, and I trust that a volume of his letters will be given to 
the public. If the personal allusion may be pardoned, I will 
say that I have in my possession fifty or sixty of his letters 
addressed to me and marked 'personal' or 'confidential,' which 
I prize beyond all price, and which I regard as among the 
finest specimens of letter- writing of which I have any acquain- 
tance in all the range of ancient or modern literature. 

"One of the greatest calamities of the kind with which I 
am acquainted is that there was stolen from Mr. Davis's papers 
when stored in New York a package containing his strictly 
confidential correspondence with General Lee during the war 



ANALYSIS OF HIS CHARACTER. 457 

— letters which he did not show even to his staff or his cabi- 
net, and which contained the secret thoughts and plans of 
these two great men and congenial spirits. 

*'Mr. Davis spoke to me several times of this loss, and always 
with deep feeling and sorrowful regret. 

"A distinguished Northern gentleman with whom I was con- 
versing very freely at Ocean Grove, N. J., two years ago about 
the Confederacy, its measures, men, and history, suddenly said, 
'Jeff. Davis is in his dotage now, is he not?' 

"My prompt reply was, *If you think so, suppose you read 
his recent reply to General Sherman.' 

"That reply to Sherman's unprovoked and inexcusable slan- 
ders and his reply to the criticisms of Lord Wolseley, in a re- 
cent number of i\\Q North American Revieiu,w\\\ rank among 
the finest specimens of such writing in the language. 

"But above all, and crowning all of his other qualities, Mr. 
Davis bore himself amid all of his stern duties, crushing 
responsibilities, bitter trials, and strong temptations, as a 
patriot of the purest type, and as a stainless Christian gen- 
tleman. 

"When his State called he closed his brilliant career as 
United States Senator and gladly laid his fortune, his talents, 
and his life on the altar of Southern independence. Men may 
differ as to the wisdom or expediency of his course, but none 
who knew him could ever doubt that he was actuated by 
motives of the highest patriotism; that he sought not self- 
interest or self-promotion, but the good of the land he loved 
so well. He burned to enter the Confederate army and to 
serve the cause in the field, for he believed from the first that 
war was inevitable, but when with one voice his countr3'men 
called him to be President of the Southern Confederacy he 
sacrificed his own wishes to serve his loved Southland. 

" It is natural, perhaps — alas! for poor human nature that 
it should be so — that men should look for a 'scapegoat' when 
failure comes, and that the leader of a 'lost cause' (as men 
look upon it) should not escape the adverse criticism of his 
followers. Mr. Davis has been by no means an exception to 
this rule, and the croaking of certain Confederates has min- 
gled with the bitter denunciations and unreasonable hatreds 
of his enemies. He has been charged with ' sins of omission 
and of commission,' — of doing all sorts of things which he 



458 THE DAVIS MEMOIilAL VOLUME. 

'ought not to have done,' and of 'leaving undone' all sorus of 
things which he 'ought to have performed.' But no man lias 
ever dared to face him with any charge of malfeasance in office, 
of prostituting the public service to private ends, of being 
guilty ot one single act in which he did not have in view the 
good of the great cause he had espoused as God gave him to 
see it, or of any conduct unworthy of the stainless gentleman, 
the pure patriot, seeking his country's good. 

"He said to his intimate friend, Hon. B. H. Hill, of Georgia, 
upon the occasion of a confidential interview between them: 
'God knows my heart. 1 ask all, all for the cause; nothing, 
nothing for myself.' 

"Mr. Hill well adds: 'Truer words never fell from nobler lips 
nor warmer from the heart of a more devoted patriot. These 
words express in language the soul, the mind, the purpose — 
aye! the ambition of Jefferson Davis.' 

"While in irons at Fortress Monroe he was charged with 
complicity with the assassination of Mr. Lincoln and with 
cruelty to Federal prisoners, and his enemies hoped at one 
time to destroy him on these trumped-up charges, but they 
could not procure evidence on which the infamous Holt dared 
to go into his trial even before a military court, and with his 
band of trained perjurers at his call. 

"As for the charge of 'treason,' Chief- Justice Chase and the 
ablest lawyers at the North whom he consulted were too wise 
to bring him to the trial which he so greatly coveted. He said 
to me one day at Beauvoir with flushed cheek and flashing 
eye: *0h! if they had only dared to give me the trial for 
which I begged and for which I longed! Then would I have 
shown beyond all cavil at the bar of justice and at the bar of 
history that we were no rebels and no traitors, but had only 
exercised the rights guaranteed to sovereign States by the con- 
stitution of our fathers, and that in making war upon us for 
an attempt to exercise peaceably this right the North was the 
real 'rebel' against law — the real 'traitor' to the constitution.' 

"In the eloquent address before the Georgia Branch of the 
Southern Historical Society, delivered by Hon. B. H. Hill, he 
closed an able vindication of Mr. Davis as follows : 

"'I could detain you all night correcting false impressions 
which have been industriously made against this great and 
good man. I knew Jefferson Davis as I know few men. I 



460 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

have been near liim in his public duties; I have seen him by 
his private fireside; I have witnessed his humble Christian 
devotions, and I challenge the judgment of history when I say 
no people were ever led through the fiery struggle for liberty 
by a nobler, truer patriot, while the carnage of war and the 
trials of public life never revealed a purer and more beautiful 
Christian character. Those who during the struggle prostitu- 
ted public office for private gain or used positions to promote 
favorites, or forgot public duty to avenge private griefs, or were 
derelict or faithless in any form to our cause, are they who con- 
demn or abuse Mr. Davis. And well they may, for of all such 
he was the contrast, the rebuke, and the enemy. Those who 
were willing to sacrifice self for the cause, who were willing to 
bear trials for its success, who were willing to reap sorrow and 
poverty that victory might be won, will ever cherish the name 
of Jefferson Davis, for to all such he was a glorious peer and 
a most worthy leader. 

'" I would be ashamed of my own unworthiness if I did not 
venerate Lee. I would scorn my own nature if I did not love 
Davis. I would question my own integrity and patriotism if 
I did not honor and admire both. There are some who affect 
to praise Lee and condemn Davis. But of all such Lee him- 
self would be ashamed. 

'"No two leaders ever leaned each on the other in such beau- 
tiful trust and absolute confidence. Hand in hand, and heart 
to heart, they moved in the front of the dire struggle of their 
people for independence — a noble pair of brothers. And if 
fidelity to right, endurance to trials, and sacrifice of self for 
others, can win title to a place with the good in the great here- 
after, then Davis and Lee will meet where wars are not waged 
and slanders are not heard; and as heart in heart, and as 
wing to wing they fly through the courts of Heaven, admiring 
angles will say, what a noble pair of brothers!' 

"The noble 'Tribune of the People,' the brave defender of 
the Confederacy and her leaders 'ceased from his labors' some 
years ago, but his ringing words will find an echo in many a 
loyal Confederate heart to-day. Within the past ten years it 
has been my privilege to be a frequent visitor to Beauvoir, the 
beautiful home by the Gulf where the evening of the days of 
this great man had been spent, and to have seen him in the 
quiet of his home and in the bosom of his family. No man 



ANAL YSIS OF HIS CHAR A CTER. 461 

was ever a more affectionate husband or more devoted father. 
His playful conversation with his noble wife and accomplished 
daughters, his devotion to his grandchildren, his graceful recep- 
tion and entertainment of visitors, his perfectly charming con- 
versation on any topic that might be introduced, his tender 
solicitude for the comfort and welfare of others, and the inval- 
uable 'material for the future historian' which his lightest 
conversations contained are all indelibly written in my mem- 
ory and heart, but may not be detailed in this paper, already 
too long. 

"This much, however, I must say: In all of my repeated 
interviews with Mr. Davis, and the freedom of conversation 
about men and things with which he honored me, and in all 
of the confidential letters about historical matters which at dif- 
ferent times he wrote me there was a marked and most remark- 
able absence of bitterness, or of denunciation of those even 
who had most grievously wronged and injured him. I cite 
only two examples of this out of many which I could give: 
He once had a controversy with a distinguished Confederate 
in reference to the Peace Conference, and was quite severely 
censured for not being willing in the early days of 1865 to 
make peace on the condition of a restoration of the Union — the 
distinguished Confederate saying that he would have gladly 
done so at that time. Mr. Davis replied in very courteous but 
very vigorous style. 

" It so happened that just at this time in looking over some old 
Confederate papers I found in one of them a card from this 
distinguished Confederate, written just after the 'Hampton- 
Roads Conference,' in which he said that ' certain evil-disposed 
persons had circulated a rumor that he was in favor of peace 
on the basis of reunion with the North,' and proceeded to 
denounce the statement as 'utterly false and slanderous,' and to 
aver that he was ' unwilling to accept anything short of inde- 
pendence,' and was in favor of * fighting it out to the bitter 
end until this was attained.' I copied and sent this card to 
Mr. Davis, and he wrote me a letter of warm thanks, in which 
he said : ' This card is worth its weight in gold in this contro- 
versy, but of greater worth than gold is the kind friendship 
which prompted the sending of it to me.' 

" But he never followed up his advantage and never used 
the card, and he told me afterwards, when I asked him about 



462 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

it, that he 'became sorry for Mr. , in the awkward posi- 
tion in which he had placed himself, and concluded not to 
press his advantage.' 

" The other incident was this : Another prominent Confed- 
erate had abused Mr. Davis roundly in my presence — making 
numerous statements which I knew to be incorrect — and I 
wrote to Mr. Davis for a refutation of them. He very promptly 
replied with a complete and triumphant vindication of him- 
self, but marked the letter 'strictly confidential,' saying that 
he 'did not wish even in his own vindication to injure one 
who had been a true Confederate.' 

''I might multiply these illustrations almost indefinitely, 
but I must hasten to conclude this article with just one other 
point. 

" I speak of my own personal knowledge and intimate inter- 
course with him when I say that Mr. Davis was one of the 
humblest, most intelligent, most decided evangelical Chris- 
tians wdiom I have ever known. He was in his ofl&cial posi- 
tion always outspoken and decided on the side of evangelical 
religion, and his fast-day and thanksgiving-day proclamations 
were not only models of chaste style and classic English, but 
breathed a spirit of humble, devout piety, which w^as not per- 
functory, but welled up from a sincere and honest heart. 

"He said to Rev. Dr. A. E. Dickinson, concerning the grand 
work of colportage in the army, which he was superintending 
and pushing with rare ability, zeal, and success : 'I most cor- 
dially sympathize with this movement. We have but little to 
hope for if we do not realize our dependence upon Heaven's 
blessing, and seek the guidance of God's truth.' 

" I have space for only the following, which may be given as 
a specimen of his proclamations : 

" ' To the People of the Confederate States : 

" ' The termination of the Provisional Government offers a fit- 
ting occasion again to present ourselves in humiliation, prayer, 
and thanksgiving before that God who has safely conducted us 
through our first year of national existence. We have been 
enabled to lay anew the foundations of free government and 
to repel the efforts of enemies to destroy us. Law has every- 



AI^AL YSIS OF HIS CHAR A CTER. 433 

where reigned supreme, and throughout our wide-spread limits 
personal liberty and private rights have been duly honored, 
A tone of earnest piety has pervaded our people, and the vic- 
tories which we have obtained over our enemies have been 
justly ascribed to Him who ruleth the universe. AVe had 
hoped that the j^ear would have closed upon a scene of contin- 
ued prosperity, but it has pleased the Supreme Disposer of 
events to order it otherwise. AVe are not permitted to furnish 
an exception to the rule of Di\ane government which has pre- 
scribed affliction as the discipline of nations as well as of indi- 
viduals. Our faith and perseverance must be tested, and the 
chastening which seemeth grievous will, if rightly received, 
bring forth its appropriate fruit. It is meet and right, there- 
fore, that we should repair to the only giver of all victory and 
humbling ourselves before Him, should pray that He may 
strengthen our confidence in His mighty power and righteous 
judgments. Then may we surely trust in Him that he will 
perform His promise and encompass us as with a shield. In 
this trust and to this end, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the 
Confederate States, do hereby set apart Friday, the 2Sth day of 
Februar}^ instant, as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer; 
and I do hereby invite the reverend clergy and the people of the 
Confederate States to repair to their respective places of public 
worship to humble themselves before Almighty God and pray for 
his protection and favor for our beloved country and that we 
ma}^ be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that 
hate us. 

"But it was especially in private life and in his home that 
his Christian character shone out most clearly. A diligent 
student of God's Word, a man of praj^er and a believer in 
prayer, a regular attendant on church services, fond of conver- 
sation on religious topics, and of consistent Christian walk, I 
had in my intimate personal intercourse with him the most 
abundant evidence that he took Christ as his personal Saviour; 
that he rested with child-like trust in the grand old doctrines 
of salvation by grace, justification by faith, and that he rejoiced 
in the sweet comforts and precious hope of the Gospel. 

"Grand old hero of mighty conflicts — ever true to God, to 
country, and to duty — thou hast fought thy last battle ; thou 
hast left behind a stainless name ; thou hast won thy last great 
victory; thou has joined Lee and Jackson and Stuart and 



464 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

hosts of *men who wore the gray' and were soldiers of 
the Cross as well as soldiers of their country ; thou dost now 
* rest from thy labors ' and wear thy fadeless crown. 

"J. William Jones." 

TRIBUTE OF BISHOP J. C. KENNER. 

shop Kenner, of the M. E. Church South, closed his ser- 
mon in Felicity Street church, New Orleans, December 8th, 
1889, as follows: 

"I said in the beginning that I took this passage because it 
is precious to contemplate, and because all are thinking of the 
death of our very distinguished citizen, Mr. Jefferson Davis, 
who now lies in his coffin at the Municipal Hall. It is very 
delightful for us to realize in our thoughts that his hopes are 
our hopes, and our hopes his ; that he was not merely a public 
character. A man may be a great man, a magistrate; he may 
be the centre of all thought and all eyes; he may be a great 
figure in history, and yet w^hen he comes to die he dies like 
any one else; he is only a man; has to have the same repent- 
ance, the same assurance, the same faith in Christ ; goes out 
the same way, passes through the same .passages the Saviour 
passed through ; is in all points a man ; and as Christ was the 
Son of Man, it is essentially all that can be said; he is a man 
saved by Christ. 

"I had the good fortune to know Mr. Jefferson Davis per- 
sonally, and I appreciated his acquaintance very highly. I 
admired him intellectually. It was delightful to talk with 
him ; his memory was so tenacious and exact, his bearing so 
admirable. As far as I could see, he was a man of great ingen- 
uousness of character, of lofty, honorable purpose, a man that 
might well be taken for an example to young men. There 
was one other man, a Virginian, whose character, spiritually 
and intellectually, in the light of his achievements, in the light 
of his gentleness and genuineness, is a model for almost all 
men. I might venture to say that INIr. Davis had great integ- 
rity of character, and he will ever be an object of admiration 
to all who fairly understand him, just as our revered General 
Lee now is. Mr. Davis fills the minds and hearts of all the 
South this day. He lies in his coffin mourned, admired, and 
loved. He was, by the providence of God, called to act a 



AXA L YSIS OF HIS CnA:^A CTES, ' 465 

great part in the history of our nation. Events, over wliich 
he had no control, placed him at the head of the Confederate 
government, which, as its executive, he guided until it yielded 
to the force of arms. His integrity of purpose and character 
during all the conduct of the civil war left him at its close 
without a blemish. His imprisonment for two years, and the 
untold humiliations which accompanied it, did not affect the 
nobility of his mind. He suffered without losing for a mo- 
ment the grace of his bearing toward foes or friends. He came 
out of it, and out of the war, a better man and a maturer 
Christian. Since then he has demeaned himself with all pro- 
priety and dignity in his intercourse with the world. He has 
illustrated and vindicated the soundness of his judgment dur- 
ing the terrible events of war, and that by his firmness and 
wisdom and observances of the maxims of civilized warfare, 
the South emerged from its smoke and blood, self-respected, 
respected by the world, and respected by those with whom it 
contended. 

"It was my good fortune to know Mr, Davis intimately. He 
attended our seashore camp-meetings and ate at my tent. He 
was a sincere believer in the Christian religion. He listened 
to the Word and to the experiences of the people of God with 
reverent interest. I remember on one occasion he met me as 
I came out of the pulpit and thanked me heartily for the 
sermon, and said: 'You have removed difficulties from my 
mind in respect to the atonement, and I shall be a better man 
for it from this time to the end of my life.' The sermon was 
on the sinner who anointed the feet of Jesus, and of the 
debtors: 'AVhen they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave 
them both.' He did not say this merely as a compliment to 
the preacher. I was somewhat surprised at the earnestness 
with which he spoke, and his manner made a great impression 
on me. 

"My last conversation with him was on the cars, on the sub- 
ject of experimental religion, and the wonderful expressions of 
Napoleon the Great in respect to the Saviour and the Gospel. 
I doubt not that he went straight home to the bosom of his 
Father and ours, that he is now with his Lord on the shining 
shore in the light of eternal morning." 

30 



466 THE BAVIS MEMOniAL VOLUME. 

INCIDENT FROM SENATOR JOHN H. KEAGAN. 

We have received the following touching incident from 
Senator Keagan, the old Postmaster-General of the Confederacy: 

" United States Senate, 1 
"Washington, D. C, January 10, 1890. j 

^^ Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Atlanta, Ga.: 

"My Dear Sir — In answer to your letter of January 1st I 
send you herewith a copy of my brief address at Alexandria, 
Va., on the death of Mr. Davis. I regret that I have not time 
to prepare something more acceptable in the way of reminis- 
cences. 

"I will mention a single incident illustrative of the deeply 
religious character of Mr. Davis's mind. After we arrived 
together as prisoners at Hampton Roads, Mr. Stephens, the 
Vice-President of the Confederacy and myself were ordered on 
another vessel to be taken to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor. 
On taking my leave of Mr. Davis and his family and of the 
Hon. C. C. Clay and his wife — and it was a very sad leave- 
taking — Mr. Davis requested me to read often the 26th Psalm. 
He said it gave him consolation to read it. I loved him as I 
have never loved any other man. 

" Very truly and respectfully, 

"John H. Reagan." 

We might give hundreds of incidents and anecdotes illus- 
trating his character, as we have already given many in pre- 
vious chapters, but we can only find room for the following. 

Mr. H. W. Baldwin, of Madison, Ga., wrote to ask him for a 
line to his two boys, and received the following in reply : 

" Beauvoir, Miss., 8th March, 1889. 
'^Masters IK T. and H. W. Baldwin: 

" My Dear Young Friends — While you are not old enough 
to remember the sad scenes through which your father and 
his associates passed, yoj f.ie living in the midst of those 
whose traditions will enable you fully to understand the ques- 
tions which agitated our country before you were born. 

"While it would be unbecoming a Georgian to be insensible 
to the wrongs inflicted upon us, to forgive is a much higher 
quality thau to revenge. He who came to save sinners taught 



ANAL YSIS OF HIS CHAR A CTER. 467 

the new and grand lesson that criminalty was in the intent, 
and therefore it is that vengeance properly belongs to Him 
who knows the hearts of men. 

"That your lives may be useful, honorable and peaceful, is 
the sincere wish of yours, Jefferson Davis." 

Mr. Lemuel Park, of Atlanta, wrote him his desire that his 
two little boys should see him, and received a very cordial in- 
vitation to him to bring them and a very cordial reception, 
and when afterwards he carried the boys to see Mr. Davis in 
Macon, he promptly recognized and warmly greeted them. 

His kind treatment of his slaves in ante-helium days, and of 
his servants since, was not only well known to his neighbors 
and friends, but seems to have been warmly appreciated by 
them, as the following will show: 

"Raleigh, N C, December 11, 1889. 
"James H. Jones, who was the body-servant of Jefferson 
Davis at the time of his capture, and has for many years been 
an alderman of this city, to-day sent the following dispatch: 

"'Raleigh, N. C, December 11, 1889. 

"* To Mayor Shakspeare, Neiu Orleans: 

"*As the old body-servant of the late Jefferson Davis, my 
great desire was to be the driver of the remains of my old 
master to their last resting-place. Returning too late to join 
the white delegation from this city, I am deprived of the 
opportunity of showing my lasting appreciation for my best 
friend. James H. Jones.' 

" At the memorial services to-day he had a seat immediately 
in front of the stage. When last here Mr. Davis excused him- 
self from other callers to go to his room and talk with 'My 
friend, James Jones.' " 

"Brierfield, Mississippi, January 12, 1889. 
" To Mrs. Jefferson Davis, Beauvoir, Mississij^pi : 

" We, the old servants and tenants of our beloved master, 
Hon. Jefferson Davis, have cause to mingle our tears over his 
death, who was always so kind and thoughtful of our peace 
and happiness. We extend to you our humble sympathy. 
Respectfully your old tenants and servants, Ned Gator, Tom 
McKinney, Grant McKinney, Mary Pendleton, Mary Archer, 



468 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Elijah Martin, Wm. Nervis, Isabel Kitchens, Teddy Everson, 
Hy Garland, Laura Nick, Wm. Green, Gus Williams and others." 
Another of his old servants came all the way from Florida 
to see him when he learned of his sickness, and was deepl}'' dis- 
tressed at his death, and one of the most touching incidents of the 
funeral was the presence and sorrow of some of his old servants. 

We received, among many others which we cannot find 
space to use, the following letter: 

"Raleigh, N. C, December 18, 1889. 

" Dear Sir — In December, 1861, wishing an appointment in 
the (regular) Confederate States army, I determined to ask Mr. 
Davis for it. I had cast my first vote for him at the Novem- 
ber election, was youthful in appearance, no sign of beard, and in 
contemplation of the visit had gone to a barber and M'as shaved. 

" When I told Mr. Davis what I wished, he replied : * Why, 
Mr. Ashe, you are too young.' ' Why, Mr. Davis, I voted for 
you last month !' 

" He had probably thought me about eighteen years of age, 
and fearing that he had hurt my feelings, he blushed very 
perceptibly, and hastily said: *0h, excuse me; I beg your 
pardon. It was a long time before I had whiskers myself,' 
putting his hand to his rather thin beard as he spoke. 

"His kindly attempt to reassure me, by putting himself in 
the same box with myself with regard to the absence of a 
manly beard, and his blusliiiig, indicated the gentle heart of 
the true gentleman. 

" In 1864 (it must have been), or perhaps 1863, when he was 
visiting the fort below Wilmington, a little girl of seven was 
brought to him on the steamboat, and presented as a daughter 
of Mr. AVilliam Ashe. He took her in his arms, there before 
the crowd, and drew her to his breast, and told her that he 
had loved her father (who was then dead), and kissing her, 
held her to him sometime, as if his heart felt warm towards 
her. Yours, truly, S. A. Ashe." 

But we have run over considerably the space we had allotted 
to the " Outline of his Life and Character," and yet we have not 
told the half that might be told of the deeds and character of 
this stainless gentleman, incorruptible patriot, great leader, and 
humble Christian. 



PART II. 

HIS SICKNESS, DEATH, 

AND 

FUNERAL OBSEQUIES, 

AND THE 

World's Tribute to His Memory. 




HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 

HE health, of Mr. Davis had been poor for a number 
of years, but by the careful nursing of his wife, the 
skill of physicians, and his own prudence he had 
rallied from repeated illness, had lived to see his 
81st birthday, and when we saw him about that time and again 
in July he seemed better and stronger than for some years. 
But a short time before his fatal illness it became necessary for 
him to go to Brierfield on important business, and he was feel- 
ing so well that he insisted that it was not necessary for Mrs. 
Davis to accompany him. 

While there he was taken sick, came back to New Orleans 
through very unfavorable weather. Mrs. Davis met him on 
the way and returned with him, and went at once to the house 
of Judge Charles E. Fenner, where also lived his life-long 
friend, Mr. J. M. Payne, and there received every attention that 
loving care could suggest until the sad end came. 
The Picayune gave the following account : 

"Jefferson Davis closed his eyes in death at fifteen minutes before 1 
o'clock this morning, surrounded by all of his friends and relatives who 
were within call. 

"The handsome and characteristically southern residence of Judp;e 
Charles E. Fenner, at the corner of First and Camp streets, is at present an 
object of interest to every friend of Mr, Jefferson Davis, because it is in the 
pleasant guest-chamber of this elegant home that the beloved old Confed- 
erate chieftain passed away. 

"The Fenner residence, built by Judge Fenner's brother-in-law, J. U. 
Payne, is one of the most comfortable and interiorly artistic in all the city. 
It is of brown stone stucco, two stories high with broad verandas and set in 
lovely grounds, where camelia bushes are spiked with bloom and oranges 
hang in clusters on the trees. 

" The house has a wide hall running through the centre with drawing- 
rooms on one side, a library on the other and on the rear corner of the 
house in a lovely and cheery apartment, into which the southern suu 
streams nearly all day, lay the patient and distinguished invalid. 
[4711 



472 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" It is a wonderfully pretty room, with a rich toned, Persian hued carpet on 
the floor, shades and delicate lace curtains at the four windows— two front- 
ing to the east and two to the south. Pictures are on the walls and there 
are a lounge, easy Turkish chairs and pretty carved tables and a huge 
carved oak Victoria bedstead on which the ex-President of the Confederacy 
lies in the embrace of death. 

" His constant attendant has been Mrs. Davis, who has never left his bed- 
side since his illness began. In a comfortable home wrapper of gray and 
black this gentle ministrant was always at the invalid's side, and if she 
left him for a moment he asked for her, and was fretted or uneasy until she 
returned. 

" Friends constantly sent beautiful flowers, of which Mr. Davis was very 
fond, but these were not allowed to remain in the sick room for any length 
of time. At the outset jellies, fruits and all manner of invalid's delicacies 
were proffered, until Mrs. Davis was compelled to decline them. The sick 
man's food was only milk, ice, beef tea, and rarely a broiled chop. 

" Mr. Davis remained in bed all the time and was never left alone, being 
guarded lovingly by his wife and the capable quadroon hired nurse Lydia, 
and Mrs. Davis's own little brown-eyed handmaiden Betty, who at all times 
had entree to the sickroom. But little talking was allowed, and news- 
papers, letters and telegrams were tabooed. 

" On Wednesday afternoon a reporter of the P'tcw/ime was fortunate enough 
to have a few moments' conversation with Mrs. Davis. She was worn and 
wearied with service at the sick bed, but which she would not allow to any 
other, and her step was lagging as she came into the dining-room. She 
was very hopeful, however, of her husband's ultimate recovery. 

'"Mr. Davis has always been an exceedingly temperate man,' said Mrs. 
Davis, ' he has never abused his physical body,-and no one could have lived 
more moderately than he. Of course all this is in his favor. I do not 
mean to saj^ that there would be no danger if a door were left open or the 
fire in his room allowed to go out. He is as frail as a lily, and requires the 
most exquisite care. That he has. I believe he would not be alive to-day 
had this illness come upon him at Beauvoir, where he could not possibly 
have had the constant care of such physicians as Dr. Bickham and Dr. 
Chaille, and the intelligent love, tenderness and luxury that surround 
him in this home.' 

"Mr. Davis seemed much better during the early part of yesterday, and 
his improved condition was remarked by the doctors and his family. He 
had a pain in the bowels during the day, but the serious feature appeared 
just a few minutes before six o'clock. Then the illustrious patient was 
stricken with a severe congestive chill. The doctors were not present ati 
the time, but Judge Fenner's family and Mrs. Davis did everything to soothe 
the sufferer. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 473 

" He lost consciousness after the chill, and never sensibly recovered his 
faculties. 

" It was 7 o'clock before Dr. C. J. Bickham, vice-President of the board 
of administrators of the charity hospital, and Dr. Stanford E. Chaille, Dean 
of the medical faculty of Tulane University, and two of the most famous 
practitioners in the South, arrived and consulted over the condition of the 
patient. 

" His change was a surprise totally unexpected by even those in constant 
attendance, and the skilled eyes of the medical men saw in it the beginning 
of the end. They continued with the patient until his death, however, and 
made every possible effort to avoid the inevitable. 

" INIr. Davis remained in a comatose condition, and the attendants could 
see no signs of consciousness. Mrs. Davis said she occasionally felt a return 
of tlie pressure of the hand she held, although he could neither speak nor 
make a sign. 

" This was the scene in the sick-chamber as the hours passed : 

" At the bedside, when the end came, were Mrs. Davis, Mr. J. U. Payne, Mr. 
and Mrs. Judge Charles E. Fenner, Mr. E. H. Farrar, Miss Smith, a grand- 
niece of Mr. Davis; Mr. E. D. Fenner, a son of the justice; Dr. C. J. Bick- 
ham, and Dr. S. E. Chaille. 

" The lamp of life waned low as the hour of midnight arrived ; nor did it 
flicker into the brightness of consciousness at any time. Eagerly, yet ten- 
derly, the watchers gazed at the face of the dying chieftain. His face, 
always calm and pale, gained additional pallor, and at a quarter to 1 o'clock 
of the morning of the 6th day of December death came to the venerable 
leader. 

*' There was nothing remarkable about the death-bed scene. The depar- 
ture of the spirit was gentle and utterly painless. There were no dry eyes 
in the little assembly about the bed, and every heart bled with the anguish 
which found vent in Mrs. Davis's sobs and cries. 

"Immediately after the death Mrs. Davis was led up stairs to the bed- 
room of ]Mrs. Fenner, where the ladies tried to assuage her grief. She bore 
the awful blow bravely, but her breathing was labored, and her condition 
so weakened that the two doctors consulted her. They pronounced her 
weakness to be only that consequent on the strain and the grief, and said 
that nothing was to be feared. 

" In the meanwhile, the body was being straightened and bathed. It will 
be eml)almed early this morning. 

" In the limited time of last night no arrangements for the funeral could 
be thought of. Mrs. Davis signified her wish that Judge Fenner and Mr. 
Farrar should take entire charge of all matters connected with the burial." 



474 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

The Times-Democrat gave the following account of the clos- 
ing scene : 

" At 12:45 o'clock this morning Hon. Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the 
Confederate States, passed away at the residence of Associate Justice Charles 
E. Fenner. 

" From the beginning of his fatal illness Mr. Davis had insisted that his 
case was nearly or quite hopeless, though the dread of pain or fear of death 
never appeared to take the slightest hold upon his spirits, which were brave 
and even buoyant from the beginning of his attack. 

" In vain did the doctor strive to impress upon him that his health was 
improving. He steadily insisted that there was no improvement, but with 
Christian resignation he was content to accept whatever Providence had in 
store for him. 

'' Only once did he waver in his belief that his case showed no improve- 
ment, and that was at an early hour yesterday morning, when he playfully 
remarked to Mr. Payne: 'lam afraid that I shall be compelled to agree 
with the doctors for once, and admit that I am a little better.' 

" All day long the favorable symptoms continued, and late in the afternoon, 
as late as 4 o'clock, Mrs. Davis sent a cheering message to Mrs. Stamps and 
Mr. and Mrs. Farrar. 

" At 6 o'clock last evening, without any assignable cause, IMr. Davis was 
seized with a congestive chill, which seemed to absolutely crush the vitality 
out of his already enfeebled body. So weak was Mr. Davis that the violence 
of the assault soon subsided for lack of vitality upon which to prey. 

" From that moment to the moment of his death the history of the case 
was that of a gradual sinking. At 7 o'clock Mrs. Davis administered some 
medicine, but the ex-President declined to receive the whole dose. 

" She urged upon him the necessity of taking the remainder, but putting 
it aside, with the gentlest of gestures he whispered, ' Pray, excuse me.' 

"These were his last words. Gradually he grew weaker and weaker, but 
never for an instant seemed to lose consciousness. Lying peacefully upon 
his bed and without a trace of pain in his look, he remained for hours. 
Silently clasping and tenderly caressing his wife's hand, with undaunted 
Christian spirit, he awaited the end. 

"From the moment of the dread assault of the congestive chill thc^e 
gathered around his bedside who had been watching and noting with pain- 
ful interest every change of symptoms for the past month knew well that 
the dread messenger was even at the door. 

" About 10:30 o'clock Associate Justice Fenner went to call to Mr. Davis's 
bedside Mr. and Mrs. Farrar and Mrs. Stamps. As soon as the message 
reached them they hurried to the bedside of the dying ex-President. 

" By 11:30 o'clock there were assembled in the death chamber Mrs. Davis, 
Drs. Chaille and Bickham, Associate Justice and Mrs. Fenner, Miss Nannie 
Smith, grandniece of the dying ex-President, and Mr. andMrs.E.H. Farrar. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 



475 



" Finding that Mr. Davis was breathing somewhat heavily as he lay upon 
his back the doctors assisted him to turn upon his right side. With his 
cheek resting upon his right hand like a sleeping infant and with his left 
hand dropping across his chest, he lay for some fifteen minutes breathing 
softly but faintly. More and more feeble became his respirations till they 
passed into silence, and then the watchers knew that the silver cord had been 
loosed and the golden bowl broken. The Father of the Confederacy had 
passed away — 

"As calmly as to a night's repose, 
Or flowers at set of sun." 




"PRAY, EXCUSE ME." 

" Despite the fact that the end had come slowly and peacefully, and after 
she had been face to face for hours with the dread reality, the blow fell with 
crushing force upon the afflicted widow. 

" As long as there had been work for either head or hand she had borne 
up bravely, and not until the sweet uses for her tender ministrations were 
lost did she seem to realize the terrible force of the blow that had fallen 
upon her. 

" Knowing of a predisposition to heart afiection, the doctors were at once 
gravely alarmed for her, and they promptly administered a composing 
draught, and at a late hour this morning she was resting quietly. 



476 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" It is believed that the foundation of the ex-President's last illness was 
malaria, complicated with acute bronchitis. 

" Carefpl nursing and slcilled medical attention had mastered the latter^ 
but it is supposed that tlie congestive chill, which was the immediate cause 
of death was attribuf-able to a return ot tlie malaria. 

"After death the face of the deceased, though looking slightly emaciated, 
showed no trace of suffering, more nearly resembling that of a peaceful 
sleeper than of the dead. 

" When the family had partially recovered from the terrible shock, Mr. 
Farrar went to the Western Union telegraph office and sent dispatches to 
Miss Winnie Davis, who is in Paris with Mrs. Pulitzer, to Mr. Davis's son-in 
law in Colorado City, and also notified Governor Lo wry, of Mississij^pi, ashe 
deemed it but right tliat the Executive of the State should know of the 
death of one of its most distinguished sons. 

" Senator Jones, who had started from Iowa some days ago to pay a visit 
to his old friend and comrade, did not arrive yesterday, as was expected, 
and when he reaches this city to-day will only behold the remains of him 
whom in life he esteemed and to see whom he travelled from far-off Iowa to 
the Sunny South. 

" Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Davis's daughter, who was due here yesterday, was 
detained last night at Fort Worth, and is not expected to be in the city until 
Saturday morning." 

The announcement of the deatli of our great chieftain ex- 
cited the profoundest grief, and called forth the warmest 
expressions of sorrow, not only in New Orleans, but through- 
out the whole South, and among many at the North. 

We could fill a volume much larger than this with editorials, 
telegrams and resolutions that voiced the feelings of the peo- 
ple, but we can only cull a few from the many. 

The Daily States said in its editorial : 

"Throughout all the South there are lamentations and tears ; in every 
country on the globe where there are lovers of liberty there is mourning ; 
wherever there are men who admire heroic patriotism, dauntless resolution, 
fortitude, or intellectual power and supremacy, there is sincere sorrowing. 
The beloved of our land, the unfaltering upholder of constitutional liberty, 
the typical hero and sage, is no more ; the fearless heart that beat with 
sympathy for all mankind is stilled forever, a great light has gone out — 
Jefferson Davis is dead ! 

"A quarter of a century has elapsed since the last charge of the Confede- 
rates at Appomattox. The illustrious chief of the Confederacy now lies 



JUS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 477 

dead. No one of all the illustrious personages who have adorned the his- 
tory of the Union, served that union in the field, in the Cabinet, and in the 
Senate, better than he. Yet, he died disfranchised; denied the simplest 
political privileges accorded to the millions of ignorant, irresponsible, and 
semi-barbarious negroes the Federal Government emancipated and enfran- 
chised. But all the enactments of Congress ; all the fierce and bitter denun- 
ciations of the North ; all the vituperations, malice, hatred, and misrepre- 
sentations that the press and leaders of the North have heaped upon Jefier- 
son Davis, and by which for twenty-five years they have sought to brand 
him " traitor," have failed of their purpose, and he stands forth to-day as 
one of the grandest examples of patriotism and as one of the most indomi- 
table champions of liberty that has ever appeared upon the area of human 
affairs. He who stood through the grandest and most terrific political epi- 
sode of history, as the central figure and chief of that band of heroes com- 
posed of Lee, Johnston, Jackson, Bragg, Beauregard, and a hundred others 
and about whose lifeless form millions of his countrymen to-day are weep- 
ing, confounds alike the malice and the fury of traducers, whether those 
traducers be individuals or nations. 

" Jefferson Davis is dead ; but the principles for which he struggled, for the 
vindication of which he devoted his life, for which he suffered defeat, and 
unto which he clung until death, still live. The fanatical bowlings of the 
abolitionists, the tumult and thunders of civil war, the fierce mouthings of 
the organizers of reconstruction, and reconstruction itself, that black and 
foul disgrace of humanity, 'all are departed, sunk to silence like a tavern 
brawl,' but the constitutional principles upon which the Confederacy was 
founded and for which Jefferson Davis spoke and struggled, for which he 
gave life and fortune, still survive in all their living power; and when 
they shall have been, if ever, really destroyed, this Republic will be trans- 
formed into one of the most oppressive and offensive oligarchies that has 
ever arisen amongst the civilized nations of the earth. 

"Come, then, veterans of the Confederacy, with your wounds and scars; 
come, fair women of the South, with your floral gifts and patriot tears,' 
come young men of the land, if you would behold a hero and a patriot who 
should be your inspirator in life ; come people of Soutli whom he loved so 
well, and mourn for the mighty dead. And ye ! spirits of the patriot dead* 
whose bodies lie scattered on a thousand battle-fields, if it be vouchsafed to 
immortal souls to revisit the scenes of their glorious deeds and noble mar- 
tyrdom, come to receive the mighty spirit of him who has finished his 
work on earth, and has gone to join you in immortal happiness and glory.'< 

The Times-Democrat made the following editorial announce- 
ment: 

"Draped in mourning this morning is another page in the history of 
the world. Jefferson Davis is dead! Tried in many high offices and found 



478 TSE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOimiE. 

faithful in all ; tested in many critical conjunctures, and proved true to his 
country and his people ; his life one long, uninterrupted sacrifice of inter- 
est to conscience, the fame of the illustrious dead shall in the years to come 
grow brighter as the embers of passion die away. 

" Jefferson Davis was not wholly understood while he lived, and it is too 
much to hope that now when he is dead the impartial judgment of his 
countrymen will wait upon his deeds. His figure was clearly outlined 
against the sky of intense conviction, and, as in life, he shirked no respon- 
sibility, but boldly followed where reason led the way, so in his death the 
South asks only that in the void which comes when her great chieftain has 
passed away, no jarring sound or discordant note of sectional hate shall 
disturb the sombre and sad-hued clouds that hang above us. His fame is 
ours this morning; a century hence it will be the world's! 

" The greatness of Jefl"erson Davis stands confessed, as now we write, in a 
people's tears. Tenacious of principle, the slave of conscience, resolute, yet 
filled with the inspiration that comes from unyielding belief, the giant fig- 
ure of the ex-President of the Confederacy stalked across the nineteenth 
century as some majestic spirit, that strong in the consciousness of its own 
right-doing, scorned the plaudits of a world ; and lived only that in himself 
duty might be deified. Such was Jefi'erson Davis, and such will history 
declare him to be. 

"That was an eventful life. Thrice in his fourscore years was the cour- 
age of Jeflerson Davis tested in the fierce crucible of war. And thrice did 
he come forth a hero, his glory brighter, his name more luminous, his fame 
an everlasting heritage to the country that gave him birth. No cause e'er 
had a grander champion, no people a bolder defender, no principle a purer 
victim than the dead statesman, soon to lie in yonder burial ground, with 
whose body are enwrapped the hopes and memories of the South he loved 
so well. In honor now he rests ; a stricken people mourn him ; the hush 
is like the void which comes when a strain of music dies. 

" The character of Jefferson Davis must awake fierce controversy. There 
are those too warped and narrow of mind and heart to do him justice ; there 
are those too near and dear to the Cause that was loved and lost to see a 
spot to dim the lustre of its chief sun. 

"But history — cold, calm, impartial, unbeclouded history— will do justice 
to the great dead. Not wholly free from that asperity which firm convic- 
tion begets, nor yet capable of truly estimating the grandeur and nobility 
of those who di'tfered with him, Jefferson Davis will ever stand, for rigidity 
of belief, for unswerving devotion to principle, for dignity of bearing in the 
hour and home of desolation, .for a simplicity that was sublime, and for an 
honor that was impregnable, as one of nature's noblemen, cast in the mold 
of that finer ambition which makes men great and pure. 

" The solemn silence of this hour should not be broken by the resound- 
ing clash of conflicting opinions. Let us sorrowfully lay to rest all that 



480 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

remains of the illustrious dead, confidently consigning his fame to the 
keeping of that time which, happily, ' is not so much the tomb of virtue aa 
its shrine.' " 

The City Item said editorially : 

•Words are inadequate to express the feelings that pervade the South to-day. 
Jefferson Davis is dead. The great leader in the most glorious epoch of 
Southern history, our sublime examplar in years of humiliation and sorrow, 
the martyr who suffered with heroic fortitude the persecutions intended 
for his people, Jefferson Davis, the illustrious type of a cause that was con- 
secrated by the best blood of the South, has laid down his cross to receive a 
crown. Freed from its earthly shackles, his soul is now at rest with Lee 
and Jackson, and with the spirits of his dauntless legions that preceded 
him through the portals of the grave. 

" A soldier of three wars, a statesman through half a century, JeflFerson 
Davis was simple and modest in his triumphs and royal in his sorrow. The 
South admired him in victory, and loved and honored him in defeat. 

" Mr. Davis was a man of wonderful energy, splendid intelligence, intense 
conviction, and exalted patriotism, and upon all the traits of his noble man- 
hood was shed the lustre of a Christian character. 

"The South mourns his loss to-day as a mother weeping for her first-born. 
Monuments will speak to coming generations of his fame, but a more price- 
less homage than can be rendered by statues of marble and bronze are the 
tears of his sorrowing people." 

THE DAY OF HIS DEATH. 

Mayor Shakspeare, as soon as he was informed of the death 
of Mr. Davis at 3 o'clock A. M., issued the following proclama- 
tion : 

" It is with the deepest regret that I announce to the people of the city 
of New Orleans the departure from this life of Jefferson Davis. He needs 
no eulogy from me. His life is history and his memory is enshrined in the 
heart of every man, woman and child in this broad South. We all loved 
him, and we all owe him honor and reverence. In order that proper 
arrangements may be made for his funeral, I have the honor to invite the 
following gentlemen to meet me in my office at 12 o'clock this day to con- 
fer on the subject." 

The mayor also sent a message to each one of the Governors 
of the old Confederate States. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 481 

Governor Nicholls issued the following proclamation : 

"Executive Department, State of Louisiana, 

"Baton Eouge, Dec. 6, 1889. 

" It is with profound emotion and heartfelt sorrow that I announce to 
the people of the State of Louisiana the death of Jefferson Davis, the hon- 
ored President of the Confederate States. 

" As soldier, statesman and citizen he nobly performed his part. Tiie 
pages of history will perpetuate his glorious record. The eyes of future 
generations will turn reverently to that heroic figure whose death the grate- 
ful South now mourns. His fame stands impregnable. To it the eulogies 
of his loving people can add no lustre. From it the denunciations of his 
enemies cannot detract. 

*' Francis T. Nicolls, Governor of Louisiana. 

Telegrams of condolence began to pour in early in the day, 
and continued to come all day and until late in the night — 
indeed, until after the funeral. Among those received by Mrs. 
Davis were the following : 

From Governor Robert Lowry, Mississippi : 

" Bells are tolling, public buildings draped in mourning and immense 
meeting to be held at 4 P. M., witn. view of dispatching committee to claim 
remains of the great dead for interment in Mississippi." 

From W. "VV. Stone, W. L. Hemingway, T. M. Miller, George M. Govan, T. 
R. Preston, W. D. Holden, Jackson, Mississippi : 

" Permit us to tender you and yours assurances of sympathy in your 
unspeakable bereavement. Your great husband will live always in the rev- 
erent and affectionate memory of all our people, whose grief now is without 
measure." 

From Governor L. S. Ross, Austin, Texas : 

"I write in a portrayal of sincere condolence with those who honored 
your illustrious husband while living, and who revere his memory when 
dead. His lofty patriotism, immaculate integrity, and firmness of purpose, 
which never yielded principle for expediency nor abandoned the right for 
success will be held up for emulation by the aspiring youth of Texas who 
would achieve an honorable distinction among their fellow-men." 

From Governor Robert Lowry, Mississippi : 

"State officers resolve to attend the funeral in a body. Please advise 
arrangements. Will you kindly make known to the family that Mississippi, 
the State he loved so well, will claim the honor of being the resting-place of 
the patriot, statesman, and nobleman, whose great name is indissolubly 
linked with her own?" 

31 



482 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, 

From Governor J. P. Richardson, Columbia, S. C. : 

" With my deep and sincere personal sympathy, I beg to express to you 
the profound sorrow of the people of South Carolina at the intelli<?ence of the 
death of j'our illustrious husband. The fame of his greatness will grow 
with the passing years." 

From Mayor John J. Glenn, Atlanta, Ga. : 

" You have deepest sympathy in the loss of your illustrious hasband. 
They loved him to the last." 

From Governor Francis T. Nicholls to Judge E. C. Fenner : 

"The people of Louisiana will hear with profound grief and sorrow 
the death of President Davis, a man who, standing equally the tests of 
prosperity and adversity, became even more and more endeared to the true 
men and women of his State as his brave and unblemished life drew to a 
close. 

" Would you do me the kindness at a later moment to convey to Mrs. Davis 
my sincere sympathy with her, and the expression of strong regard and 
affection for her husband ? 

" I would have seen you this morning in person, but sprained my foot 
last night so badly as to make it impossible for me to leave the house. I 
have directed that the flag on the Capitol be displayed at half-mast." 

From W. D. Wood, E. H. Reynolds, George T. McGehee, Hammett Hardy, 
Samuel R. Kane, J. V. Henderson, and Sterling Fisher, San Marcos, Texas : 

"The South mourns to-day as mourns the family when a link in the chain 
is broken. Your sorrow is our own." 

From J. F. Cecil, Pickett-Buchanan Camp Confedei-ate Veterans, oSTor- 
folk, Va. : 

"AVe venerate the memory of our dead President, and reverently tend 
you our deep sympathy in your great grief." 

From Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, Jackson, Miss. : 

" My sympathy and prayers are with you. 

From Henry W. Grady, Esq., Atlanta Ga. : 

" Please accejjt my sincere sympathy in your bereavement. Our whole 
people mourn with you and pray that God may bless you and yours." 

From President W. J. Garret, West View Cemetery Company, Atlanta, Ga.: 

" The West View Cemetery Company renew their offer to you in Febru- 
ary last through Mr. Sidney Root, and beg that you will accept." 

From Charles C. Jones, Jr., President Confederate Survivors' Association, 
Augusta, Ga. : 

"The members of the Confederate Survivors' Association of Augusta, Ga., 
crave the privilege of assuring you at the earliest moment of their profound 
sympathy and heartfelt sorrow upon the demise of your illustrious husband 
and beloved chief and the venerated President of the Southern Confed- 
eracy." 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 483 

From Dr. J. William Jones, Atlanta, Ga. : 

" Warmest sympathies and most fervent prayers. Will go down to-mor- 
row." 

From C. W. Frazer, President, and R. J. Block, Secretary, Historical Asso- 
ciation, Memphis, Tenn. : 

" The Historical Association of Memphis tenders its sympathy and regrets 
at the great loss sustained by you and the country in the death of Mr. Davis. 
This association begs the boon of bringing his honored remains here for burial , 
and we assure you and the country that his grave shall be kept green 
through the coming ages. We urge this, as he was a member of our associ- 
ation, made his first home here after the war, and was dear to the hearts of 
this community. 

From Captain John D. Adams, Little Rock, Ark. : 

"My wife and self deeply sympathize with you in this greatest affliction 
that could befall you. We all deplore the death of your precious husband , 
who was beloved by all who knew him. He was a great and good man . 
The whole South mourn his loss, and his name will ever have a warm place 
in the hearts of those he leaves to follow him." 

From ]\Iarcus Bernheimer, Esq., St. Louis, ]\Io. : 

"Mingling mine with the sincere grief of the countless admirers and 
lovers of your illustrious husband, I beg to tender to you and family heart- 
felt sympathy in this your hour of deepest affliction." 

From Hon. W. H. Hardy, New York : 

" I and my household mourn with you. Accept our sincere sympathy." 

Mr. William L. Davis, of New York, expresses his loving sympathy. 

From General W. L. Cabell, Dallas, Texas : 

" Myself, in common with all the Confederates in Texas, mourn the death 
of your illustrious husband. May God have you and your children in His 
keeping." 

From W. G. Waller, Esq., Richmond : 

"Accept my heartfelt and devoted sympathy in your deep sorrow." 

From !Marco and Katie Paolo, Memphis, Tenn. : 

"Our hearts follow you and beat in tenderest sympathy with you in this 
hour of your deepest sorrow. We pray that God may give you grace to 
bear your cross and grant that the soul of your noble and illustrious husband 
may rest in peace." 

From Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Neely, Memphis : 

" Please accept assurances of our great sorrow and heartfelt sympathy." 

From Sidney Root, Esq., Atlanta, Ga. : 

" My Dear Friend — God bless you and keep j^ou in this sore trial. The 
whole South mourns with you." 

From Senator John H. Reagan, Washington : 

"My Dear Friend — Myself and family mourn with you for the death of 
your distinguished and noble husband and my most valued friend. In the 



484 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

hour of your calamity, you have the aflFectionate sympathy of millions of 
loving friends, who deplore the loss of the true friend, the earnest Chris- 
tian, the patriotic citizen, the wise statesman, most beloved and venerated 
by a large part of the American people for his self-sacrificing devotion to 
principle and to duty. May God protect and help you in your great afflic- 
tion. Command me always if I can serve you." 

From Governor F. P. Flemming, Tallahasse, Fla. : 

"Permit me to tender my sincerest sympathies in the great affliction 
which has come to you. The people of the South mourn with you in this 
our common bereavement." 

From General Joseph R. Anderson, Richmond, Va. : 

" My wife unites with me in love and sincere sympathy with you in the 
loss of your illustrious husband. His life was the illustration of the talent 
and virtue that ennobled humanity." 

From H. W. Grady, Esq., Atlanta, Ga. : 

" No people would hold the remains of your illustrious dead in deeper or 
more constant reverence than the people of Atlanta, and we should esteem 
it the highest honor to have them in Westview Cemetery, itself a battle- 
field on which his soldiers fought and fell." 

From Swift Galloway, Commander, Goldsboro, N. C. : 

" Thomas Ruffin Camp, ex-Confederate Veterans of Wayne county, North 
Carolinia, now convened to pay tribute to the memory of your illustrious 
husband, beg leave to express their profound sympathy and to mourn with 
you and yours in the sad bereavement which has befallen'you in the death 
of their beloved ex-President." 

From Sidney Root, Esq., Atlanta, Ga. : 

" If you and your family are inclined to accept the offer of the beautiful 
cemetery in this city, which I urgently advise, they will bring all the 
remains of your children. Perpetual care is guaranteed and a moument will 
be built." 

From Edward Piers, president Confederate Veterans' Association of Ala- 
bama ; J. T. Holtzchaw, president Montgomery Veterans' Association ; W. 
S. Reese, president Alabama Confederate Monument Association ; Mrs. M. 
D. Ribb, president Ladies' Memorial Association; Edmund A. Graham, 
Mayor j Thomas H. Watts, ex-Attorney-General Confederate States ; Mont- 
gomery, Alabama : 

" With profound sympathy and condolence in your great bereavement, and 
in response to the united wishes of our people, we earnestly request that 
you allow us to have the remains of Mr. Davis buried here under the Con- 
federate monument, on Capitol Hill, where he was inaugurated President, 
the corner-stone of which was laid by him, and which, when completed, 
will be ornamented with a life-size bronze statue of him." 

From Captain Robert E. Park, President Riverside Cemetery, Macon, Ga.: 

"The Riveriside Company of Macon offer, with their heartfelt sympathy 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 485 

in your great affliction, the best and most conspicuous burial lot in their ceme- 
tery, overlooking Ocmulge river and che city of Macon. We have an endow- 
ment requiring perpetual care o) graves and lots, and it is laid out on the 
lawn plan. The grounds are beautiful, undulating, and artificially planted as 
one harmonious flower garden on a lofty eminence, overlooking the river 
and city, and adjacent to both is a Confederate redoubt, which is guaran- 
teed to be preserved, and we ofier this lovely spot as a fitting burial place 
for Mr. Davis and as a family burial lot. The lot will be ornamented with 
fountains and lakelets and the entire redoubt or fort with flowers, as directed 
by yourself, and a splendid monument will be erected if yon accept our 
urgent and loving ofier. We will gladly bear all transportation and burial 
expenses, and will send an escort to bring the body to Macon. We beg 
you to visit Macon and remain as the city's guest." 

From Senator J. C. S. Blackburn, Washington, D. C: 

" Every true son of the South shares your sorrow." 

From ex-Confederate Soldiers Survivors' Association of Northeast Georgia, 
H. H. Carller, president, Ed. D. Newton, secretary, Athens, Ga.: 

" We tender our heartfelt sympathies to yourself and family in the loss 
of our soldier-statesman and ex-Confederate chieftain." 

From Thomas H. Allen, M. G. Galloway, Thomas N. Allen, H. C. Wellon, 
AV. H. Calleen, James E. Beasley, Casey Young, M. B. Trezevant, Memphis, 
Tenn.: 

" We, the friends of our ex-President, join in expressions of sympathy 
with a united South generally, and the citizens of Memphis particularly, 
and desire to add their earnest request to that of the Confederate Histori- 
cal Association of this city, that his honored remains may find its final 
resting place here where he was always loved." 

From Mayor John T. Glenn, Atlanta, Ga.: 

" The West View Cemetery Company tenders a beautiful lot for the burial 
of Mr. Davis and his family, and wfd have the remains of any of his chil- 
dren removed to it. The people of Atlanta would be glad to have the 
remains of your illustrious husband rest in their midst, and will take pride 
in protecting his grave in the future." 

From Captain J. J. Grossman and Rev. A. D. Sears, Clarksville, Tenn.: 

"A public meeting of the citizens of Clarksville join Forbes' Bivouac in 
tendering to you and yours their heartfelt sympathies in the hour of your 
affliction. Our people mourn with you in the death of your illustrious hus- 
band and our ex-President, and shall ever cherish the memory of his 
invaluable services to our Southern land." 

From Governor Fitzhugh Lee, Richmond, Virginia : 

" The sympathetic cords of the hearts of our people are deeply touched at 
the loss of one we have ever regarded with the greatest affection, and the 
memorv of whose valor and virtue we will ever hold sacred." 



486 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

. From Justice L. Q. C. Lamar, Washington: 

"The whole Southern people are in grief over the death of their great 
fl.nd beloved countryman, and their sympathy with you and your precious 
ones is deep and pervading. Please believe that what I feel for you cannot 
be told in words." 

From J. T. Skipp, commander, J. T, Dickerson, adjutant, Chattanooga, 
Tenn.: 

" For many days we have eagerly watched the bulletins from the bedside 
of our late chieftain, sharing your anxiety as to his condition. The ray of 
hope that gleamed but yesterday filled our hearts with joy commensurate 
with your own unsolicited letter of congratulations for Forest Camp, which 
scarcely started on its way when we were shocked by the announcement of 
his death. Our heads bowed in sorrow and our hearts ache in sympathy 
with you and your family in the hour of your bereavement, that is shared 
in our whole Southland." 

From Miles Sells, Esq., St. Louis, Mo., to J. U. Payne: 
• " In the loss of your devoted and life-long friend, my heart goes out in 
deepest sympathy to you and Mrs. Davis, with an assurance of my profound 
sorrow and regret." 

From Joseph Boyce, Esq., President, St. Louis, Mo. : 

" The members of the ex-Confederate Historical and Benevolent Associa- 
tion of St. Louis tender you their deepest symjiathy. The memory of your 
illustrious husband will always be fresh in our hearts." 

From Governor Daniel G. Fowle, Raleigh, N. C. : 

" North Carolina mourns with you the death of the greatest and most 
beloved of the sons of our Southland." 

From ex-Mayor "W". S. Eessee, Montgomery, Ala. : 

" All sons and daughters of Alabama weep with you and yours." 

From General E. C. Walthall, U. S. Senator, Washington, D. C. : 

" The whole South mourns with you. Your husband's hold upon the 
affections of the people in his last days was even stronger than in the time 
of his great power." 

" Mr. J. IT. Payne received a dispatch from ex-Governor, Lubbock, of 
Texas, asking when Mr. Davis would be buried, as he desired to attend." 

From Governor Robert Lowry, Jackson, Miss. : 

"The great heart of Misissippi is touched by the death of her best beloved. 

"His noble nature and public services will be treasured always in the 
memory of her people. 

" Accept assurances of my heartfelt sympathy. Your bereavement is our 
bereavement, and may the merciful God comfort you." 

From Price Williams, President Lee Association, Mobile: 
" President Army of Northern Virginia : 

"Please telegraph ine when the funeral of Jefferson Davis will take place 
and what arrangements will be made for delegations of military and citizens.'' 



Hlis SICKNESS AND DEATH. 487 

" The necessary response was wired last evening. 

'Mr. Edgar H. Farrar received a telegram from the mayor of Natchez, 
INIiss., asking for explicit information regarding the time of funeral, leading 
to the supposition he will attend with the Natchez Council." 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE FUNERAL. 

From tlie full reports of the New Orleans papers we shall 
cull or condense at pleasure, and we make, in advance, this 
acknowledgment. 

" In order that proper arrangements might be made for the funeral the 
mayor invited the following prominent gentlemen to meet him in his parlor 
at noon December 6, to confer on the subject : Francis T. Nicholls, Charles 
Chaffe, Louis Bush, John Dymond, A. K. Miller, R. M. Walmsley, Esq., John 
G. Devereux, Esq., John T. Hardie, Esq., Colonel John B. Richardson, Gen- 
eral Adolph Meyer, General John Glynn, Jr., I. H. Stauffer, Esq., Hon. Edward 
Bermudez, Hon. Walter H. Rogers, Colonel David Zable, General A. S. Badger, 
Dr. A. W. Smyth, Hon. T. C. W. Ellis, Hon. Thomas Agnew, B. M. Harrod, Esq., 
Wright Schaumberg, Esq., Hon. James G, Clark, Jules Tuyes, Esq., Pierre 
Lanaux, Esq., Ringgold Brousseau, Esq., Dr. E. E. Souchon, Dr. A. B. Miles^ 
Rev. Dr. Markham, Rev. Father Hubert, Rev. Dr. I. L. Leucht, Bishop 
Keener, Bishop J. N. Galleher. 

" The first to appear was Bishop Galleher, who arrived shortly after 11 
o'clock. 

" Justice Fenner, of the Supreme Court, at whose residence Mr. Davis 
passed his last hours on earth, and Mr. E. H. Farrar, a nephew of the 
deceased, called soon after the bishop. 

" Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston, who was aid-de-camp to Mr. Davis, came 
accompanied by State Senator Avery. Colonel Johnston was about to depart, 
but prevailed upon to remain, having been on the President's staff and also 
representing the Tulane University. 

" Mayor Shakspeare, Major Wright Schaumberg and Messrs. Fenner and 
Farrar held a brief consultation before the meeting. 

" When the meeting was called to order by Mayor Shakspeare, the fol- 
lowing gentlemen were present : 

" Bishop Galleher, Justice Fenner, Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston, Father 
Hurbert, Dr. Miles, A. Ringgold Brousseau, Attorney-General W. H. Rogers, 
P. A. Orr, T. M. Wescott, F. Codman Ford of the Mechanics, Dealers and 
Lumber Exchange ; Jules Tuyes, president New Orleans Insurance Com- 
pany ; State Senator Avery, State Assessor James Demoreulle, Councilmen 
A. Brittin, James G. Clark, George Lhoste and Frank Hall ; Army of Nor- 
thern Virginia— President F. S. Washington, Major E. D. Willett, Colonel 



488 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

David Zable, Fred. A. Ober ; "Washington Artillery — Colonel J. B. Richard- 
son, Colonel Wm. Miller Owen, and Col. T. L. Bayne ; Grand Army of the 
Eepublic— General A. S. Badger, deputy collector of the port of New Orleans ; 
Army of Tennessee — A. J. Lewis, W. T. Cluverius, J. B. Vinet, John Coos, 
Nick Cunney, A. Boisblanc, J. B. "Wilkinson, Jr., J. H. Duggan; "United Vet- 
erans — J. A. Chalaron ; Sons of Veterana, Army of Tennessee — Major J. 
Numa Augustin, Percy Campbell, Lamar C. Quintero ; Confederate States 
Cavalry — Colonel George "W. Moorman, D. A. Given, J. H, Behan, J. H. 
Duggan, T. "W. Castleman, "Wright Schaumberg; Sons and Daughters of the 
Army of Northern Virginia— "W. S. McElroy and Charles Smith, Jr. ; Presi- 
dent Delgado, of the Sugar Exchange ; President Chaffe, of the Cotton 
Exchange ; Judge T. C. "W. Ellis, Civil District Court ; President A. K. Mil- 
ler, Maritime Association ; Veterans' Association — Messrs. Washington and 
Given; President Louis Bush, Board of Trade; Major General John G. 
Glynn, Jr., State National Guard ; Dr. LeMonnier, Army Tennessee ; R. M. 
"Walmsley, President Louisiana National Bank ; Rabbi L L. Leucht, Rev. 
Dr. Markham, Judge R. H. Marr, Criminal District Court. 

" There were manjr other prominent gentlemen present who were lost to 
view in the large assemblage. 

" In calling the meeting to order Mayor Shakspeare addressed the assem- 
blage as follows : 

" Gentlemen — I have invited you as representatives of the South's chief 
city, to meet in conference for the purpose oi> making proper arrangements 
to pay the last sad tribute of respect to him who was in his generation the 
foremost man in all the South, and who possessed in an eminent degree the 
highest public and private virtues. Of a necessity, a man so great and so 
aggressive must have had great and sometimes bitter opponents. But in the 
presence of that great leveler who lays at last the shepherd's crook beside 
the scepter, political animosities and differences should cease and all be ready 
to pay a tribute to the memory of a man who while he lived, stood forth as 
one of nature's masterpieces and who, when he died took with him from 
the earth such wealth of virtue and of intellect." 

" The mayor called for suggestions, in response to which Captain Lewis 
suggested that before action be taken Associate Justice Fenner be consulted 
regarding the wishes of Mrs. Davis. 

" Associate Justice Fenner arose, and with deep emotion, speaking feel- 
ingly, and at times scarcely above a whisper, said : 

" The great, strong, gallant heart of Jefferson Davis has ceased to beat, 
flis soldierly form, clad in Confederate gray, lies hard by in your midst. 
His family and friends, who have done what lay in their power to minister 
to his needs and to soothe his last hours, recognize the justice of the claim 
preferred by the battle-scarred veterans of the legions he led so gallantly, 
and by the citizens summoned by your honorable mayor as representatives 



SIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 489 

of the people of New Orleans, of the South, to take into their care the 
remains of the honored dead, and to prepare and organize those public 
ceremonies which the occasion seems to demand. 

" Mrs. Davis has signified her desire that the corpse should remain in her 
private charge to-day. It was suggested that perhaps committees which 
would be appointed by the veteran associations and citizens' committee, 
through the mayor, would designate some public place where the remains 
might lie in state to receive the affectionate greeting and homage of his 
fellow-citizens. It has also been suggested that it might be well that the 
removal to that place be made quietly and unostentatiously at some hour 
to-night, and the public be notified through the newspapers as to the place. 

"It is supposed that the committees will take such steps as they think 
meet and proper, and fix a day and place for the temporary interment until 
permanent disposition of the remains might be determined on j also, that 
the order and method of the proceedings be fixed so that the people of the 
South might have an opportunity to pay that honor to one who was ever 
true to them. 

"Captain A. J. Lewis moved that the body of Mr. Davis be transferred to 
the City Hall at an appropriate hour at night, there to lie in state until 
Tuesday at 12 o'clock M., and then be conveyed to its temporary place, of 
resting — the tomb of the Army of Northern Virginia. The veterans, repre- 
sented by several committees, had discussed this question earnestly and 
seriously, and it had been agreed that the temporary resting place should 
be the tomb of the Army of Northern Virginia. The City Hall was selected 
as the most appropriate place for the remains tolie in state. It was impossi- 
ble to select the Washington Artillery Hall, owing to circumstances over 
which that command has no control. The hall has been leased for certain 
festivities. 

" The programme, as laid down by Captain Lewis, was adopted by the 
meeting. 

" Captain Lewis further announced that telegrams had been sent to 
General Gordon, and one had been received from Mobile and Memphis, 
and it was necessary to give time to the friends and admirers of Jeff'erson 
Davis to come to New Orleans to pay respect to his memory. 

" Attorney-General Rogers said that there were many preliminaries to be 
observed, and he suggested that the mayor appoint committees. The work 
would have to be performed by committees, and at least two should be 
appointed. 

" Mayor Shakspeare informed the gentlemen present that he had been 
called up at such an early hour of the morning that it was impossible for 
him to get at the various organizations and persons who should have been 
invited to the meeting, and he hoped no feeling would be exhibited by 
those forgotten. The sad news had been conveyed to him by a reporter, 
and the proclamation had been written hurriedly. 



490 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Major Schaumberg suggested the appointment of an executive committee 
of seven members to take charge of the entire affair, that committee to 
appoint such sub-committees as it might see fit. Adopted. 

"Attorney-General Eogers announced the presence of General J. G. 
Glynn, commanding the 'State military forces, and he suggested that the 
mayor officially notify the governor of Louisiana of the death of Hon. Jef- 
ferson Davis, so that he might take such action as might be deemed neces- 
sary. 

" Major Schaumberg, the secretary, immediately penned a letter to Gov- 
ernor Mcholls, which was handed to General Glynn to be conveyed to the 
Governor. The letter ran as follows : 

"^To Governor Francis T. NichoUs: 

" 'It becomes my sad duty to inform you of the death in this city last night 
of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, and that a joint committee of veterans and 
citizens has been formed to arrange proper means of paying a tribute to his 
memory. 

"'The chairman of the executive committee appointed at this meeting is 
Colonel William Preston Johnston, president of the Tulane University. 

' " Very respectfully, 

' " Joseph A. Shakspeare, Mayor.' 

"Judge Rogers, on behalf of Colonel Bush, stated that Tuesday was too 
early a date for the ceremonies, and the time was changed until 12 o'clock 
M. Wednesday, so as to afford non-residents an opportunity of reaching 
New Orleans. 

"The mayor also sent a telegram to the Governor of every one of the for- 
mer Confederate States, as follows : 

"'It becomes my sad duty to announce to you and your people the death 
in this city of Hon. Jefferson Davis. The funeral rites will be held here on 
Wednesday, 11th of December, at noon.' 

"The Mayor, after a brief consultation with gentlemen assembled, an- 
nounced the executive committee as follows : 

" Chairman, Colonel William Preston Johnston, president of the Tulane 
University ; Captain J. A. Chalaron, United Veterans ; Colonel J. B. Richard- 
son, Washington Artillery ; Captain Jacob Grey, Gram! Army of the Repub- 
lic; Hon. J. G. Clark, City Council; INIajor D. A. Given, Veteran Cavalry; 
Major J. Numa Augustin, Sons of Veterans ; Captain A. J. Lewis, Army of 
Tennessee ; President Frederick S. AVashington, Army of Northern Virginia. 

"The Council chamber was assigned for the reception of the remains. 

" Colonel Richardson announced that a guard of honor in full uniform 
from the Washington Artillery would be on duty at the City Hall and watch 
over the remains. 

"This ended the business of the general committee and the meeting 
adiourned." 



, HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 491 

To the energy and efficiency of this executive committee, 
aided by the Veteran Association and the citizens generally, 
was due in no small degree the fact that the preparations for 
the funeral were wisely conceived and admirably executed, and 
the final arrangements well nigh perfect. 

As soon as the death of Mr. Davis became generally known, 
the citizens began to drape their places of business; the public 
liuildings were all draped, and by the day of the funeral the 
whole of the great city wore emblems of mourning, and the 
draping was so general as to make its absence an occasion of 
adverse criticism. 

" The council chamber was profusely and fittingly decorated with the som- 
bre trappings bespeaking the gloom that dwelt in the hearts of the thou- 
sands to whom the name of the dead chieftain was dear. 

" It was midnight before the decorations in the City Hall, the place assigned 
for the remains to lie in state until Wednesday at noon, when they will be 
conveyed to their temporary resting place, the tomb of the Army of North- 
ers Virginia, were completed. 

" President of the Council James G. Clark was assigned the duty of direct- 
ing the decorations. They were planned by him, and were rapidly carried 
into effect by skillful hands. 

" Broad bands of black crepe encircle the ponderous pillars supporting the 
alcove, the base of each pillar being set off with white bunting. The wide 
door giving entrance to the marble hallway has been profusely adorned 
with black, the streamers reaching from base to dome. 

" Entering the marble hallway, which extends the entire length of the 
building, the hallway is found to have been draped in sable cloth. Bands 
of black are festooned to the ceiling, extending down the walls to the mar- 
ble flooring. The doors leading to the various departments have also been 
draped in mourning. 

"The Council chamber is reached through the marble hallway. It has 
been turned into a death-chamber, in the centre of which the catafalque 
upon which rests the remains has been erected. It is a simple platform 
covered with black cloth. The iron railing separating the catafalque from 
the lobby has also been covered with black. 

"The catafalque is a square twelve by twelve feet in extent, and two tiers 
of steps above the flooring. A pedestal stands upon tlie catafalque, and 
upon it rests the casket, Around the pedestal ferns are banked. 

" The windows and doors have been heavily draped, as well as the cor- 
nice extending around the room, a large rosette here and there keep- 
ing the black in position, and emphasizing the sombre drapery. The walls 
have been draped in mourning. 



492 THE DA VIS MEMOEIAL VOL UME. 

" To the rear of the catafalque has been erected a slanting stand covered 
with black and crowned with floral offerings. The background of this 
stand, which hides from view the desk of the mayor and clerks, contains 
floral swords, the tribute of the Confederate Cavalry Association, crossed* 
with the United States and the Fourteenth Louisiana regiment flags, tattered 
and shot-torn in many fights, crossed above the regimental colors, a flag that 
followed the fortunes of the Confederacy from its birth to its close. Above 
the flags is the American eagle and the court of arms of the United States 
appropriately draped in crepe. 

" To each side of this are the large portraits of ex-President Harrison, 
' old Tippacanoe,' and Henry Clay. They face the coffin, are draped in the 
American colors, and appear to be gazing upon the countenance of the dead 
President. 

" On the opposite of the room is the picture of Mr. Davis, heavily framed 
in black, out of which shine electrical sparks. The drapery is puff'ed and 
incandescent lights are distributed within the pufis, producing a striking 
efiect. Thus above it all looks down the counterfeit presentment of the 
dead chieftain. ' Crowned as best be seen a warrior from the order of his 
fame,' with the flag of the country to which his services in camp and field 
and cabinet had added so much lustre. 

" Suspended from the ceiling over each corner of the catafalque are drop- 
ping columns of black entwined with ivy. 

" Shortly after 10:30 o'clock Colonel J. B. Richardson, of the "Washington 
Artillery, brought two tweve-pound bronze mountain howitzers into the 
Council Chamber, and one was placed on either side of catafalque, adding 
considerably to the military character of the scene." 

The Washington Artillery was given the post of honor as 
guard to the dead chieftain, and details from the Army of North- 
ern Virginia -Association, and from the Army of Tennessee, 
Association were also in constant attendance while the body 
was lying in state. 

AT THE FENNER MANSION. 

The beautiful picture " After Death" — which we give from a 
a photograph taken at the time, correctly represents the calm 
repose of the great chieftain as he lay in the parlor of the 
Fenner mansion. 

We will not parade before the public incidents of the sacred 
grief of the noble woman who had been so long the companion, 
and helprnate, and who had watched so faithfully at the bedside 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 493 

until all was over. Suffice it to say that while, of course, 
plunged into the deepest grief, she had been too long accus- 
tomed to sorrow, and had passed through too many scenes of 
bereavement not to bear this one with the Christian fortitude 
which has ever distinguished her. 

From an early hour of the morning of the death of Mr. Davis, 
crowds of friends began to call at the house bringing offers of 
service, beautiful flowers, and loving words. 

The following incident given by the Times-Democrat is worth 
preserving : 

" As a result of his gracious dignity, Mr. Davis never came in contact with 
a menial but that at once they grew devotedly attached to him. More than 
once have family and friends quizzed him regarding the absorbing love of 
the porters, servants, and slaves that accident threw in his way. Never was 
a man more loved by those who served him, and this was peculiarly notice- 
able among the negroes he owned before the war. One of the most affect- 
ing incidents connected with the death, was the arrival and grief of this old 
negro, a former slave of Mr. Davis' brother, the late Joe Davis. 

" For a number of years Miles Cooper, a decrepit colored man has sent 
from his present home in Florida, little tokens in the way of fruits raised by 
his own hands for the hospitable Beauvoir table. Through the local press, 
Miles heard of Mr. Davis's extreme illness, and, putting every personal inter- 
est and comfort aside, hastened to see the master he loved. Unused to 
travelling, aged and uncertain in his movements the unsefish servant again 
and again missed connection in the short trip, was delayed, left behind, and 
put to every possible annoyance and inconvenience. Finally he arrived, 
and full of pleasant anticipations, hurried up to look once more in those 
kindly eyes and feel the cordial grasp of that genial hand. Reaching the 
residence, all stilled as it was surrounded by an atmosphere of death, the 
servant learned of Mr. Davis's death the night previous. It was more than 
he could bear and breaking down with an outburst of deep grief, Miles sat 
crushed and hopeless, only asking the one favor to be admitted to the pres- 
ence of his master. Every one, save the family, had been denied entrance, 
but Mr. Farrar, at Mrs. Davis's request, led the way, and soon the ex-slave 
stood face to face with the noble dead. It was pitiful to hear the sobs and 
wails of the old man. He mourned with unaffected grief for the 'Mars 
Jeff"' of his youth, and prayed earnestly for the welfare of those he left 
behind." 

The grief Ox the venerable Mr. J. U. Payne, the life-long 
friend of Mr. Davis, was very touching. 



494 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 



REMOVAL OF THE BODY. 

The Picayune gives the following deeply interesting details : 

"Yards of mourning material caught up and festooned with artistic 
taste; flowers wrought into every variety of fancy figure ; pictures draped 
in black; heavy cannon; torn and tattered Southern battle flags side by 
side with the stars and stripes; a throng of people who stood with uncov- 
ered heads in reverential respect for the dead ; stacked rifles and soldiers 
on guard were the scenes of special incident at the City Hall last night that 
mutely told of the death of the great Southern soldier, statesman and 
patriot, and the love a devoted people bore for him. It was a silent, solemn 
tribute to a gallant soldier in the early war of the Union with Mexico, to 
an able Secretary of War, to a noted figure on the floor of the United States 
Senate, and to the revered leader of the Lost Cause. 

"When the carpenters and the decorators finished their task the City Hall 
presented a handsome appearance. President James G. Clark of the coun- 
cil, and Major Wright Schaumberg spent the entire evening in supervising 
the work of transforming the building into a home of death. 

" The decorations were not elaborate. They were simple and appropriate. 
Around the massive granite columns supporting the pedinaent and cornice 
heavy black cloth was wound, relieved at the top by just the slightest 
touches of intertwined white and black calico. 

" The perspective of the hall is a showy festooning of black. Drapery fell 
from the rafters to the sides, the entire length of the hall, and the doors lead- 
ing into the chamber of death are hung with heavy curtains that usher the 
mourner into the hall where the distinguished dead lies in state. 

" The interior of the Council Chamber is suggestive of the deepest mourn- 
ing. The gorgeous wall paper is hidden by the sombre colors of death. 

" Heavy black tapestry runs down the sides of the window frames and 
around the wall, and the inner railing is concealed from view. From the 
ceiling just above the catafalque are hanging mourning columns twined with 
ivy. 

" The two massive pictures that hang on either side of the mayor's desk, 
the one of Henry Clay and the other of William Henry Harrison, have 
been tastefully draped and hung with the national colors. The clerk's and 
mayor's desk has been entirely shut out from view by a stand that is cov- 
ered with black cloth and filled with chrysanthemums, immortelles and other 
rare flowers. Above the desk are crossed colors. One is a regular Ameri- 
can flag and the other is the torn and tattered ensign that the Fourteenth 
Louisiana carried from the beginning to the end of the war, and which Mr. 
Davis held in his hand on the occasion of the last Confederate reunion. 

"Just above these flags is a huge golden eagle, appropriately draped. 
Beneath, crossed swords are suggestive of heroic epochs in the life of the sol- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TU. 195 

dier coid in death. A crown and a crescent complete the figure. On the 
rear wall of the chamber hangs a portrait of Mr. Davis. It is placed within 
a frame of mourning, from which a myriad of electric lights brightly sparkle. 

"The catafalque is in the centre of the chamber. It is two steps high, 
trimly and strongly built, and finished in black. The trusses rest on a fluffy 
rug, and the casket is placed with the head of the dead statesman toward 
Carondolet street. Immediately inside the railing, pointing directly toward 
the coffin, stand two heavy twelve-pound howitzers of the Washington Artil- 
lery, forming an appropriate feature of the decorations. 

"While the finishing touches were being put to the decorations of the 
hall, leading citizens, representing every walk of private and professional 
life, visited the hall, inquired about the arrangements for the funeral, talked 
over the virtues of the deceased, and mourned in unison the death of the 
man who was once the ruler of millions of people, and one of the foremost 
characters in American history. 

"The veteran associations of the city recognized in the battalion of the 
Washington Artillery the only veteran military command still maintaining 
its military organization, and at once accepted Lieutenant-Colonel J. B. Rich- 
ardson's tender of the battalion as a guard of honor and escort. 

" Last night, at 10:30 o'clock, the Washington Artillery marched to the 
City Hall, and when the carpenters and decorators had finished, word was 
sent to the Fenner mansion that everything was in readiness for the recep- 
tion of the body. 

" It was just midnight when the word was passed along the line that the 
remains had reached the hall, and, though the hour was late, a crowd that 
blocked the rear of the chamber and filled the corridor was present. The 
troops presented arms, the officers uncovered, a detachment of three officers 
in charge of Corporal Cooper marched down the hall, and the pall-bearers, 
carrying the rich casket, passed through, and the coffin was deposited on the 
catafalque, where it will rest until it is removed to its temporary tomb of 
interment on Wednesday. 

"The upper lid was removed and the body and the pale, thin features, 
forever chilled in death, were exposed to view to the crowd in waiting. 
The battle-flag of the Fifth Company of the Washington Artillery and a 
crossed Spanish dagger, with a sheaf of wheat, was placed on the casket. 

" The Washington Artillery representatives present, besides the command- 
ing officers, were Captains E. I. Kursheedt, adjutant ; C. L. Dupuy, ordnance 
officer; J. H. DeGrange, quartermaster. Lieutenant H. N. Baker and Ser- 
geant-Major William Whitney Crane. The guard was furnished from the 
famous Battery B, commanded by Captain Eugene May and Lieutenants 
George W. Booth and J. J. Hooper. 

" Here is the guard of honor furnished last night from Battery B : Sergeants 
Fred. Kornbeck, H. K. George, B. F. Burnet, J. Atcheson; Corporals R. G. 
Richardson and E. L. Dickerson; Privates W. W. Carter, W. H, Cook, A. 



496 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Coste, H. Clark, B. L. Cole, J H. Cohen, T. F. Eyrich, G. Eyrich, H. F. Fos- 
ter, William Gardner, G. F. Holder, and Edw. Stafford. 

" Battery B will be relieved by Battery C, Captain H. M. Isaacson com- 
manding at 8 to-night, and Captain E. M. Under hill, with Battery A, will 
come on duty Sundav evening. 

"When all those present had gazed on the features of Mr. Davis, the 
chamber was cleared, and the soldiers were left alone in their nightly vigil 
with the distinguished dead. 

" The body will lie in state from 10 A. M. to 10 P. M. every day and night 
until the day of the funeral. The pubUc will be admitted at the St. Charles 
street entrance, pass through the hall, enter the chamber where the body 
lies, and then make its exit through the rear entrance at the back of the 
City Hall, on Lafayette street." 

THE CAUSE OF HIS DEATH. 

" Justice Fenner, in speaking in the Council Chamber of Mr. Davis's death, 
said : 

" ' Mr. Davis had been ill for a week before he arrived in this city. Passed 
without proper opportunity for relief, the loss of this precious time militated 
against his recovery. He was already greatly weakened and his powers of 
resistence to disease were impaired. 

" ' During the first week after his arrival he was considered by all to be in 
a dangerous condition, but after that careful nursing and the skill of his able 
physicians, seemed to have conquered disease and to have left for solution 
only the problem of his capacity to recuperate. Although his system did 
not respond in the rapid improvement desired, yet up to Thursday evening 
there was every ground for hope of his recovery. Then came the sudden 
congestive chill, the history of which is known, and which was followed by 
his speedy dissolution. 

" ' From the first Mr. Davis was despondent as to his chances of recovery, 
but he was, at all times, patient and otherwise cheerful; always ready to 
greet the familiar faces which saluted him daily ; often indulging in the 
kindly humor which characterized him, disposed to converse more than 
was permitted to him under the advice of his attending physicians. 

"'The suddenness of his relapse, followed by stupor and partial want of 
consciousness, deprived his familj"- and friends of the opportunity of invit- 
ing or hearing any expression of his last wishes or sentiments. Death 
approached graciously and attended by little suffering. He simply breathed 
at first with rapid difficult respirations, becoming toward the end slower and 
slower with longer intervals, until at last the recurring gasp so anxiously 
looked for by the loving eyes that viewed upon him, failed to come, and 
Jefferson Davis was dead ! ' 



BIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 497 

" Dr. Stanford E. Chaille, who was one of the late Hon. Jefferson Davis'a 
physicians during his fatal illness, was seen at his residence by a reporter. 

" He said that he had been the family physician of Mr. Davis for a num- 
ber of years, and that the deceased was a warm personal friend of his. In 
answer to a query as to the health of Mr. Davis for the past few years, the 
doctor stated that he had been afflicted with chronic bronchitis and chifonio 
indigestion. 

" In giving the history of the fatal sickness. Dr. Chaille said that he had 
been in attendance twenty days before the lamentable end came. He gave 
as the cause of death, Mr. Davis's chronic diseases coupled with malaria fever 
and old age. The malaria was no doubt greatly aggravated by IMr. Davis, 
being exposed to the cold in going to his plantation about three weeks ago. 

*" At no time,' Dr. Chaille said, 'did I feel sure of his recovery, and 
would only say that I thought the chances were in his favor. Thursday, 
however, when his digestion broke down entirely I gave up all hope of his 
recovery. At no time, till Thursday, did any of the symptoms of disease 
indicate a fatal issue.' 

" ' Prior to Thursday,' ^Dr. Chaille said, ' that which rendered the issue 
doubtful was his debility, old age and inability to take proper nourishment.' 

" In answer to an inquiry as to the health of Mrs. Davis Dr. Chaille stated 
that she was entirely overcome with grief at the death of a loving husband 
with whom she had spent forty years of wedded happiness, but that the shock 
had no serious results. 

"Dr. Charles J. Bickham, the physician Dr. Chaillecalled in shortly after 
Hon. Jefferson Davis arrived in New Orleans, was seen at his residence 
by a reporter last night. He stated that he had never, pre^^ous to the late 
fatal sickness, treated Mr. Davis, and consequently did not know much 
about his physical condition prior to the fatal attack. He said, in summing 
up the case briefly, that acute bronchitis was the exciting cause of death, 
while the predisposing cause was chronic bronchitis, age, insufficient nutri- 
tion on account of the delicacy of his stomach, and suffering probably 
from malaria before. ' From the beginning of the fatal illness,' Dr. Bick- 
ham said,' neither Dr. Chaille nor myself were buoyant regarding Mr, Davis's 
recovery. Mr. Davis seemed to foresee the end, and if asked how he felt^ 
even Avhen not in pain, he would say, ' I feel as though I were going down, 
down, down.' This state of the mind had considerable effect on our patient, 
for the mental faculties have a great effect on a patient. 

" It was learned from Dr. Bickham that Mr. Davis had never been better 
during his sickness than he was for two or three days previous to Thursday. 
* A distressing feature in the illness,' said Dr. Bickham, ' was Mr. Davis's 
great loathing of food. And, when he did take nourishment, it did not 
seem to strengthen him or the blood supply as would be expected. This, of 
course, was due to the weak condition of his stomach. If he had had 

32 



498 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

strength enough he would have resisted the chill that proved fatal Thursday 
night.' 

" In answer to a question Dr. Bickham said : ' He never rallietl after being 
seized with the chill, which was probably easily brought on in consequence 
of the malaria in the system.' 

"During the entire sickness, although Mr. Davis seemed confident of his 
death, he was resigned and showed no signs of dread of the approaching 
end." 

LYING IN STATE. 

" From 10 o'clock Saturday morning, December 7th, the hour appointed 
for throwing the City Hall open to the public, the central point of interest 
in this city was the large lofty Council Chamber in the rear of the building, 
where the dead statesman and ex-President of the Confederacy lay in state. 
The sombre mourning decorations that draped the heavy fluted columns 
supporting the alcove, fittingly introduced the sympathetic crowds into the 
splendid marble hallway, the ceiling, and upper walls of which were a 
fluttering mass of festooned crepe. Passing through the darkened corridor 
each visitor paused before the chamber of death, to be directed by the police 
officers and aged veterans guarding the entrance, to go quietly through, pass 
the remains and so on out by the other door. 

" Until after 3 o'clock in the afternoon the decorators were busily com- 
pleting their work, retouching draperies and finishing elaborate arrange- 
ments of the handsome mourning stuffs used. As an entirety, the apart- 
ment presented an impressive appearance, affecting those who pass under 
the heavy black portiers with the deep solemnity of the occasion. Admir- 
able taste and a keen sense of fitness has evidently dictated the planning 
and execution of the whole. 

"Against the densely black background of the east end of the Council 
Chamber have been placed the floral off'erings received, with large boxes of 
loose cut flowers filling the air with their fragrance. Some of the tributes 
are wonderfully handsome, although they in no way represent the wealth 
of blossoms to come later on. 

"The funeral being set for Wednesday, it is improbable that the off'erings 
will begin to be received in numbers before Monday afternoon. In three 
corners of the apartment the burnished muzzles of the bronze mountain 
howitzers shine and reflect the long lines of light cast from the great cen- 
tral chandelier, shedding a flood of illumination above the casket. Stacked 
arms add to the military appearance of the arrangements, further enhanced 
by the stern, soldier-like guards stationed at intervals about the chamber. 

"Fully 10,000 persons passed the casket containing the remains of Mr. 
Davis Friday. The scene during the entire day and night was an im- 
pressive one. The AVashington Artillery guard of honor kept watch over 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 499 

the casket, while beside it at the head stood a maimed veteran, an inmate 
of the Soldiers* Home. 

''The door of the mortuary room was not opened to the public until 10 
o'clock. A large crowd stood in the corridor of the building and on the 
marble stairs leading thereto, awaiting the opening of the doors, to get a 
glimpse at the features of the dead President of the Confederacy. 

" In the throng stood persons young and old, male and female, white and 
colored and of all nationalities. They realized the solemnity of the occa- 
sion and conversed in tones barely above a whisper. 

"At the large doorway leading to the Marble Hall, which is heavily 
draped in mourning, stood Police Corporal Cooper, who quietly arranged the 
throng into line to permit them to enter the room in single file. It was 
arranged to have the visitors enter the Council Chamber from the opening 
through which the councilmen pass into the chamber, mount the steps of 
the catafalque, pass beside the coffin, and leave the room through the iron 
gateway in the centre of the railing which separates the Council Chamber 
proper from the lobby, and through the lobby down the Lafayette entrance, 
which was used as an exit. Thus the visitors entered the building on St. 
Charles street and made their exit on Lafayette street. 

" President of the Council James G. Clark arrived at the hall early, and at 
10 o'clock, the appointed hour, he ordered the doors opened. 

" Then the line began to move, and a hurried look was cast upon the face 
of the illustrious dead. The line moved with slow-measured tread, and 
this was kept up until 10 o'clock at night, when the doors were closed. 

"Among the first to view the remains was General George W. Jones. He 
came in accompanied by Private Nobles of the Louisiana Field Artillery. 
The venerable soldier, the lifelong friend of the dead President, took his 
place in the line. Stopping beside the casket he gazed upon the features of 
the dead, and tears dropped from his eyes upon the glass cover. With 
bowed head he left the room. When he reached the hallway his hand- 
kerchief went to his eyes. Wiping away tears, he said, 'My dear friend.' 

" The general's grief affected all those who stood near him. ' I want to see 
Colonel Schaumberg, whose father was my friend,' said the general, and he 
was escorted to the mayor's parlor, where Colonel Schaumberg was engaged 
with matters connected with the ceremonies. 

" As he walked up to the colonel's desk the general's greeting was : 
* Wright, my boy, don't you know me?' 

" Colonel Schaumberg replied, 'No ; I hardly think I do.' 

" I am Jones, your father's friend. Mr. Davis, your father and myself 
were college- mates at Transylvania. The two clasped hands, and the gen- 
eral continued, with deep emotion, ' Yes ; we were classmates ; your father, 
Jefl. Davis, and I, and thus I meet the son of him who has gone long before, 
and the other now lying cold in death.' 



500 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

" The scene was a very affecting one, and there were few dry eyes in the 
room. After a lengthy conversation with Colonel Schaumberg about his 
family and personal affairs, General Jones looked at the oil paintings which 
adorn the walls. Gazing upon the likeness of Zachary Taylor, the general 
exclaimed : 'Zach. Taylor. I knew him well. I fought under him and have 
slept in the same tent with him.' The general then departed. 

" Commodore Hunter of the Confederate States Navy, was in line and 
viewed the remains shortly after General Jones. The Commodore took a 
hurried look and slowly moved on. He was deeply affected, but did not 
utter a word. 

" Many old ladies clad in deep mourning viewed the remains. Most of 
them sent sons or husbands to the front at the outbreak of the war and 
never saw them again. 

" One of these was a feeble tottering figure whose gray hair and sombie 
dress and eighty-four years of age at once arrested attention. She leaned 
over the casket a face that worked emotionally as if sad memories swept 
over her. Her last visit to these halls was when Butler occupied them, and 
her footsteps led through lines of blue uniforms and muskets that glistened 
with bayonets. Her present one was to shed a tear over the body of her 
lifetime friend. She was the wife of Rev. J. T. Wheat, of Memphis, in 
whose church Mr. Davis was senior warden. Lulled into delaying an antici- 
pated visit to Mr. Davis by the favorable reports of his condition, she did 
not leave her home in Salisbury, N. C, in earlier time than to reach here 
Thursday noon. That night she called at his residence, and was told Mr. 
Davis was too ill to be seen. 

" The next morning his old friend read that he was dead. She faltered in 
the hallway as she departed from where the body lay, and seemed overcome 
by her harrowed feelings. Sergeant-at-arms of the city council, John Hur- 
ley, standing near by, supported her with his one arm and strong frame. 
In apology for her weakness she said her name was Wheat, and her son 
had held a commission from Jefferson Davis. He was Colonel Robert 0. 
Wheat, of the Louisiana Tigers. ' Ah ! madam, I remember him well,' 
replied big-hearted Hurley, ' I lost my arm the same day he was killed.' 

" A large number of citizens from Mississippi were in line, but the line 
moved so rapidly that it was impossible to learn who they were. A number 
of colored citizens from Mississippi who l>ad been slaves of Mr Davis, 
formed part of the line, and spoke in the highest praise of their dead mas- 
ter. One of them wept as he looked at the face of the dead man. He gave 
his name as William Samford, of Vicksburg, and said that he had come to 
the city to pay his last tribute to his old master. ' That I loved him this 
shows, and I can say that every colored man whom he ever OMued loved him. 
He was a good, kind master.' 

A lady passed along with the line with a four-year-old child, which she 
lifted up to look at the corpse. As she reached the hall-way her handker- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TR. 501 

chief went up to her eyes. She answered a reporter, who asked if she knew 
Mr, Davis, by saying: 

"'Oh, no, sir,' she answered, 'but I realized, looking upon that kind, 
fatherly face, so still and tranquil in death, how much the Southern people 
loved him, and I could not help crying. My father and some of my kin 
were in the war with him, and this sight of the dear old chief, so still and 
white, was too much for me, and makes me think of my own people who 
went to war and never returned.' 

" Rabbi I. L. Leucht, accompanied by a number of ladies, was among the 
callers. 

" The Confederate flag, which plays a conspicuous part in the decorations, 
was much admired. Some of those present had never seen one. The bat- 
tle-worn flag of the Fourteenth Louisiana brought back recollections of the 
war to the mind of many a veteran. 

"Mr. E. H. Farrar called on the mayor yesterday afternoon, and stated that 
it was desired to have Mr. Davis's sword, which he carried through the 
Black Hawk war, placed in the Council Chamber. It was at Beauvoir, and 
Mrs. Davis feared that it might be lost if brought by express. The mayor 
at once instructed Chief Hennessey to detail a special ofiicer to go to Beau- 
voir and bring the sword to the city. The messenger left last evening. 

" James Lewis, who is looked upon as a leader of the colored citizens of 
New Orleans, called upon the mayor and had a conversation. The mayor 
told him to tell his people that the City Hall was open to all, no cards of 
admission were needed, and that the public generally was invited to view 
the remains. 

" Chaplain Witherspoon, of the Army of Tennessee, and Chaplain Mark- 
ham, of the Army of Tennessee, were among the visitors. 

" At 10 o'clock the Council Chamber was closed, and there were yet many 
who desired admission. The building was then placed in charge of the 
Washington Artillery, acting as a guard, and none but members of the press 
were admitted. 

" Just before the Council Chamber closed last night the Sons and Daughters 
of Confederate veterans, numbering over two hundred, called and viewed 
the remains. 

" The Confederate States Cavalry Association also came in a body after their 
meeting. 

" At five minutes before midnight Captain Isaacson withdrew the guard 
from the Council Chamber, and Undertaker Johnson and his assistants took 
charge of the mortuary room. Only they were permitted to enter the room. 

" They unscrewed the glass lid from the casket and removed it so as to 
allow Mrs. Hayes, daughter of Mr. Davis, and General Joseph R. Davis, a 
nephew, to view the remains. 

"As the bell of the City Hall tolled the hour of midnight, Mrs. Hayes, 
leaning on the arm of General Davis, entered the room. Not even the 



502 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

undertaker was present. What took place is not known, but as they made 
their exit ten minutes later, Mrs. Hayes was weeping, while General Davis 
showed that he deeply felt the loss of his relative. 

" Soon after the departure of Mrs. Hayes and General Davis, Mr. Orion 
Frazee, the artist who had come from Atlanta to take a death mask of Mr- 
Davis, appeared and at once went to work. 

" No one was present but the sculptor, the undertaker, and Messrs. Farrar 
and Clark, representing Mrs. Davis. 

"The head was raised and the impression of the face taken in plaster of 
paris. It was found impossible to take the hand or foot, because they had 
become shrunken. The artist was much pleased with the impression of the 
head. The features, he stated, he would be able to reproduce from a photo- 
graph. His first idea was to get an impression of the right hand and foot» 
but that was found to be impossible. 

Mayor Shakspeare received the following telegrams : 

From Governor T. P. Flemming, Tallahassee, Fla. : 

" Please advise as soon as known the time and place of the funeral of Mr, 
Davis." 

From Governor Daniel G. Fowle, Raleigh, N. C., December, 7: 

" North Carolina, through her committee, wUl unite with the people of the 
South in the funeral service in your city, whilst at that hour memorial ser- 
vices will be held throughout this State appreciative of our great leader." 

From W. E. Gonzales, Private Secretary, Columbia, S. C, December 7 : 

" The Governor and a commission of five will attend the funeral of the 
departed Southern chief." 

From Governor J. P. Richardson, Columbia, S. C, December 7 : 

" Your telegram received. Issued proclamation yesterday. State will be 
represented at funeral." 

From Governor E. W. Wilson, of Charleston, West Virginia, December 7 : 
" I regret to say that it will be impossible for any of our State officials to 
attend the funeral of Mr. Davis." 
From M. A. Fanning, Private Secretary, JeSerson City, Mo., December 7 • 
" Governor Francis out of the State at present. Cannot advise you myself 
but will wire him." 

From Governor E. E. Jackson, Salisbury, INId., December, 7 : 
" It is with deep regret we learn of the death of the Hon. Jeflerson Davis. 
Were it not for the pressure of public duties I would endeavor to be pres- 
ent at the funeral ceremonies. Assure Mrs. Davis of Maryland's heartful 
sympathy." 

From J. K. Jackson, Private Secretary, Montgomery, December 7 : 
" The Governor is not well to-day, but will, if possible, attend the funeral 
of Mr. Davis. Certainly representatives of the State will be present." 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 503 

From Governor James P. Eagle, Little Rock, Ark., December 7 : 
" Your official notification of the death of Jefferson Davia received. A 
statesman in time of peace, a soldier in war, always a patriot ; the South 
mourns the death of one of her greatest chieftains." 
From Governor Robert Lowry, Jackson, Miss., December 7 : 
" State officials and acommitteeof citizens will attend the funeral of Pres- 
ident Davis." 

From Governor Robert L. Taylor, Nashville, Tenn., December 7 : 
" I have appointed a number of distinguished ex-Confederates. Can't tell 
how many will attend." 

From Governor F. P. Flemming, Tallahassee, Fla., December 7 : 
" I will attend the funeral and will wire you if there are other represen- 
tatives of the State who will attend." 

From Governor S. B. Buckner, Frankfort, Ky., December 7 : 
" I expect to attend the funeral of Mr. Davis. I will stop at the St. Charles." 
From F. A. Reichardt^ Captain commanding Houston Light Guard, Hous- 
ton, December 7: 

"The company which formed the first military guard of honor to ex- 
President Davis after the late civil war begs to be included in the military 
arrangements of the funeral cortege of the distinguished Southern states- 
man, patriot and soldier. Please answer." 

The mayor responded that the Houston Light Guard would be assigned 
a position. 
Mayor Shakspeare yesterday sent the following dispatch : 

" New Orleans, Dec. 7. 
" Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D. C: 

"I have officially to inform you that the Hon. Jefferson Davis, at one 
time Secretary of War of the United States, died in this city yesterday. 
"His funeral will take place here on December 11, at 12 o'clock noon. 

" Joseph A. Shakspeare, Mayor." 

Mayor Shakspeare also issued the following proclamation : 

" To the Citizens of New Orleans : 

" As an outward sign of the love and admiration our people feel for the 
illustrious man and stainless gentleman now lying dead in the City Hall, I 
recommend that commercial bodies and citizens generally drape in appro- 
priate mourning, and that on Wednesday, December 11, business be sus- 
pended and the various civic and military organizations, as well as individ- 
ual citizens attend the funeral of Jefferson Davis. 

" A life so pure, a career so illustrious, may well serve as an example to 
rising generations, and I recommend that the schools be closed and that the 
children attend the funeral. 

" Joseph Shakspeare, Mayor." 



504 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

The following messages were among those received by Mrs. Davis : 
From Collin Cobb, President, Cambridge, Mass., December 7: 
" The members of the Harvard Southern Club extend to you their heart- 
felt sympathy in your great bereavement." 
From Mayor C. B. Gomees, Columbus, Ga., December 7 : 
" The citizens of Columbus in mass meeting assembled desire to express 
their sincerest sympathy for yourself and family in heavy affliction which 
has befallen you in loss of your distinguished husband, our ex-President and 
honored chieftain." 
From Mayor A. G. Deleso, Yazoo City, December 7 : 

" Our citizens send their condolence and mourn with you the death of 
your illustrious husband." 
From S. A. Manuel, President, Georgetown, S. C, December 7 : 
" The Survivors' Association of Company A, Tenth South Carolina Regi- 
ment, Confederate States Armj% mingle their tears with j'ours in the death 
of your husband and their illustrious chieftain." 

From Chaplain J. Carmichael, Armory Wilmington Light Infantrj-, Wil- 
mington, N. C, Dec. 7 : 

" Amid the tender sympathies which every true Southern heart feels for 
you in the departure of your immortal husband, none are deeper or more 
genuine than that of this command." 

From CJeorge B. Eastin, President, Louisville, Ky., Dec. 7 : 
" The people of Kentucky reverence the name of our lamented, and feel 
a pride in the fact of his being a, native of this State. I am directed by the 
Confederate Association of Kentucky and by the people of Louisville, to 
respectfully advise you thr.t they have secured for you in Cave Hill ceme- 
tery the beautiful lot formeilj' set aside for Trebideut Zachary Taylor, but 
never used, and they beg of you that they be honored by having you bring 
here the remains of Jelferson Davis." 

From Harris P. Manning, Chairman, Henderson, N. C. December 7 : 
"The citizens of Henderson, N. C, in public meeting assembled, extend 
to you their sympathies in your sad bereavement. The loss to you is a 
devoted husband, to the South a noble chief. May the God of All give 
comfort and bless you and yours." 
From Thomas A. Brander, Commander, Richmond, Ya., December 7 : 
" R. E. Lee Camp No. 1, Confederate Veterans, in meeting assembled, send 
you their sincerest sympathy. The tears of every Confederate veteran min- 
gle with yours in sorrow over the loss of our honored and loved President." 
From General E. Kirby Smith, Sewanee, Tenn., December 7 : 
"You have the heartfelt sympathy of myself and family." 
From J. H. Littlefield, Chairman, Hillsboro', Miss., December 7 : 
"The people of Hill county, Texas, in mass meeting assembled, dire<;t inf; 
to extend to you their heartfelt sympathy in your deep bereavement," 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 505 

From Mayor E. F. Beck, Vicksburg, Miss., December 7 : 

"Acting in my official capacity, at the request of the citizens of Vicks- 
burg, in mass meeting assembled, I am authorized to tender you a last rest- 
ing place within the corporate limits of this city for the remains of your 
late illustrious husband." 

From Messrs. B. F. Ward, D. Sweatman, Frank Hawkins, and J. H. 
Somerville, A''ienna, Miss., December 7: 

"The people of Montgomery county, in mass meeting, under deep con- 
viction of the country's great loss, tender warmest sympathies in this your 
sad bereavement." 

The Mississipians in Washington sent by telegraph to Mrs. Davis the reso- 
lutions of regret adopted by them. 

From Jeff. D. Griffith, Esq., Kansas City, Mo., December 7: 

" Our hearts are sad with yours." 

From William Y. Kamlin, Esq., Detroit, Mich., December 7. 

"I condole with you the illustrious dead. Please accept assurances of 
heartfelt sorrow." 

From Hon, H. Dudley Coleman, Washington, D. C., December 7: 

"I most respectfully tender to you my sincere condolence in this sad hour 
of great affliction. Many suffering hearts among our dear homes are sympa- 
thizing with you in silent grief and mute distress." 

From Messrs. Robert McCulloch, James Harding, W. E. Coleman, Theo- 
dore Brace, J. L. Keown, D. D. Owen, John B. Ruthven, B. J. Clarke, J. M. 
Ballin, W. S. Pape, William S. Davidson, and D. H. Mclntyre, Jefferson City, 
Mo., December 7 : 

"The undersigned ex-Confederates, residents of the city, desire herewith 
to tender you their heartfelt sympathy and condolence in this the hour of 
your great affliction." 

From Messrs. R. L. Gibson, N. C. Blanchard, Bowman Matthews, T. S. 
Wilkinson, C. J. Boatner, S. W. Perkins, Andrew Price, and S. N. Robertson, 
Washington, D. C, December 7: 

" We beg leave to tender to you our profound sympathy in your bereave- 
ment, and to express our own sorrow at the death of your illustrious and 
beloved husband." 

From R. W. Sieger, Esq., Chicago, 111., December 7 : 

"Am one of many Northern men feeling sympathy for you, and having 
greatest respect for the dead." 

"Telegrams were also received from John J. Hurt, R. E. Ballenge, and S. 
A. Jackson, of the Kappa Sigma Society of Abingdon, Va. ; General S. D. 
Lee; President George Moorman, of the Veteran Cavalry Association, who 
is at present in St. Louis ; Judge and Mrs. David Clopton, of Montgomery', 
Ala. : the IndependentLight Infantry, of Fayetteville, N. C. ; the women of the 
Richland Moral Association of Columbia, S. C. ; Zollicoflfer Camp Confederate 



506 THE DA VIS ME3I0R1AL VOL UME. 

Veterans; P. I. Chapter of Kappa Sigma Society, Va. ; the people of Santa 
Fe, N. M. ; the ladies of Summit, Miss. ; the Confederate Veterans of Savan- 
nah; M. J. Colson, of Brunswick, Ga., and the Confederate Survivors' 
Association, of Laurens, S. C. 

" The guard of honor, battalion Washington Artillery, the second night was 
from Battery C, Captain H. M. Isaacson, Lieutenant R. A. Phelps, Sergeant 
Jesse Fettis, Sergeant A. L. Meyer, Sergeant John Green, Corporal H. E. 
Shropshire, Jr., Corporal J. A. Haggerty, Privates J. A. Alternio, A. B. Brand, 
A. D. McBride, James Freret, Joseph T. Scott, Jr., George P. Thompson, E. 
J. Evens, Herbert Palfrey, John Monroe, Charles Doerr, J. D. Preston, L. 
Imholte, Jr., G. H. Stevenson, E. E. Chubbuck, Zr., L. Hyman." 

The following proclamations were issued on the 7th and tele- 
graphed to New Orleans : 

" Executive Department, State op Louisiana, 

"Baton Rouge, Dec. 6, 1889. 
"To the end that the universal sentiment of sorrow at the death of Jeffer- 
son Davis, which prevades this State, may find simultaneous expression, I 
earnestly invite the people of Louisiana, on the day and hour of his funeral, 
December 11, 1889, at 12 M., to assemble and hold memorial services in their 
respective localities. 

" Fkancis T. Nicholls. 

" Governor of Louisiana." 

"State of Mississippi, Executive Department, 

" Jackson, Dec, 7, 1889, 
"The great Mississippian has fallen. The Hon. Jeflferson Davis, the soldier 
of dauntless courage, the wise statesman, the distinguished orator, the true 
patriot, the model citizen, the elegant Christian gentleman is dead. This 
death has touched every Mississippian's heart. Ours is a common grief. It 
is meet and desirable that all the people should honor the memory of Missis- 
sippi's noblest son. In recognition of the universal esteem in which the 
beloved dead was held and the common sorrow of our people, I, Robert 
Lowry, Governor, recommend and urge all the citizens of the State to meet 
at some suitable place on Wednesday, 11th instant, at 12 M., the hour fixed 
for the funeral and hold memorial services in honor of Mississippi's distin- 
guished son. 

" Robert Lowry 
" By the Governor : 

" George M. Govan, Secretary of State." 

"Whereas, the Hon. Jefferson Davis, by his gallant conduct, as a soldier on 
numerous fields of battle, by his bold, staunch and unselfish devotion to his 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 507 

ideal of public duty, and by his stainless private character, has made hia 
fame the common heritage of the people of every Southern State ; and 

'' Whereas his recent death in New Orleans has carried a sense of profound 
bereavement to his fellow-citizens throughout the South, who once gladly 
acknowledged him their chosen leader, now, therefore, I, Thomas Seay, Gov- 
ernor of Alabama, in conformation to the desire of the people of this State, 
do hereby make proclamation and name Wednesday, December 11, as a 
proper time for them to meet together and show their reverence for the 
illustrious dead. Thomas Seat." 

" State of Florida, Executive Department. 
" To the people of Florida : 

" The immortal soul of Jefferson Davis passed from earth on Friday, Decem- 
ber 6, 1889. 

" It is fitting that those who honored and revered him in life, and mourn 
him in death, should pay meet tribute and respect to his memory. Now, 
therefore, I, Francis P. Flemming,Governor of the State of Florida, do hereby 
invite the people of our State on Wednesday, the 11th instant, at 12 noon 
being the day and hour appointed for his funeral, to assemble at convenient 
places in their respective communities and join in appropriate memorial 
services. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused 
to be affixed the great seal of the State at Tallahassee, the capital, this 7th 
day of December, A. D., 1889, and of the independence of the United States, 
the one hundred and fourteenth year. 

" Francis P. Flemming Governor. 
"Attest: 

"J. L. Crawford, Secretary of State " 

" Austin, December 7. 

" Governor Ross having notice from Mayor Shakspeare that the funeral of 
Mr. Davis would take place at noon, December 11, in New Orleans, issued 
his proclamation declaring " that in order that the people of Texas may 
have the mournful privilege of laying a simple wreath upon his tomb and 
mingle their tears with those who would pay fitting tribute to the public 
and private virtues of one who as a true reflex of their sentiments and> 
with a heart that never quailed and a courage that never faltered, was con- 
stant in pleading for that Anglo-Saxon birthright of largest liberty and free- 
dom of conscience in a government where the consent of the governed is the 
life and soul of our institutions, and who, with ' charity toward all and 
malice toward none,' died in that Christian faith whose wisdom it is to 
impart moral health and soundness to the race of man ; now, therefore, I, 
L. S. Ross, Governor of Texas, do earnestly invoke all those who cherish 
with filial devotion the hallowed associations and historic glories which 



508 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

cluster about his name to lay aside their customary avocations on that day 
and hour and express in an appropriate manner their deep and lasting 
grief." 

Mrs. Davis sent out the following graceful acknowledgment: 

" New Orleans, La., December 7. 
" To the Agent of the Associated Press : 
"Dear Sir: 

" "Will you have fhe kindness to say for me through the Associated 
Press that it will be a physical impossibility for me to answer the thousands 
of telegrams of condolence that have poured in from all parts of the United 
States. I therefore take this means of expressing my appreciation of the 
profound sympathy exhibited by so many of Mr. Davis's friends to his 
bereaved and grateful family. 

" Very respectfully yours, 

"Varixa Howell Davis." 

The following note was received and referred to Mrs, Davis : 

" New Orle.\ns, December 7. 
" Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston, Chairman Executive Committee : 
"Dear Sir: 

"While the entire South claims him as her own, New Orleans 
asks that Jefferson Davis be laid to rest within the city where he fell asleep. 
" To this end the Metairie Cemetery Association offers to you, as the rep- 
resentative of the people of the South, the mound to the left of the entrance 
of the cemetery and immediately opposite to and corresponding with that 
where rest the heroes of the Army of Tennessee. 

" Gus. E. Breaux, 
" J. H. Bell, Secretary." " President Metairie Cemetery Ass^n. 

It is simply impossible to give the full details of the honors 
paid to the ''Tall chieftain of the men in Gray" while his 
body was lying in state. 

It is estimated that during the days and nights of Saturday, 
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning at least 
one hundred and fifty thousand people passed by the bier and. 
viewed the body. 

And during the pouring by of the constant stream of reverent 
people some very touching incidents occurred And during 
these days telegrams of respect and condolence continued to 
pour in from all parts of the country, so numerous that we 
cannot give even the names of the parties from whom they 
came. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 509 

The Times-Democrat of the 10th had this editorial : 

" If there was ever the shadow of doubt in the minds of the people of 
the United States of the hold of Jefferson Davis upon the hearts of the 
Southern people that doubt has been removed. From city and country, 
from every nook and hamlet, have come expressions of profoundest sorrow 
over his death ; of grief at the passing away of the great Confederate chieftain- 

" Jefferson Davis's place in the affections of his people can never be filled. 
They loved him ; they loved his pure and manly character; his integrity, 
the spotlessness of his life among them. They turned to him as the Mus- 
sulman to his Mecca — the shrine at which all true Southern-born should 
worship. 

" There has never been any division of sentiment as to the greatness of Jef- 
ferson Davis. He has always been the hero of his people — their best 
beloved. From the day that Lee laid down his arms at Appomattox to the 
hour of Jefferson Davis's death the Southern people look upon the ex-Presi- 
dent of the Confederacy as the embodiment of all that was grand and glori- 
ous in the Lost Cause. Standing alone as a citizen without the power to 
exercise his citizenship, the last surviving viotiui of sectional hate and 
malevolence, he was an exile while on the soil of his native land and in the 
midst of his own people. 

" We repeat it — there can no longer remain a doubt of the affectionate 
regard in which the Confederate chieftain was held by those among whom 
he had lived for more than fourscore years. The tribute that has come is 
universal ; there is not a jarring note to disturb the hour. Jefferson Davis 
will go to the grave bathed in a people's tears." 

The following telegraphic correspondence explains itself, and 

we give it without comment : 

" War Department, 

" Washington, December 8. 
"Hon. Joseph A. ShaJcspeare, Mayor, New Orleans: 

" Your telegram informing me of the death of Mr. Davis is received. 
In refraining from any official action thereon, I would not and hope I do 
not add to the great sorrow of his family and many friends. It seems to 
me the right course and the best one for all. You will, I am sure, under- 
stand that its adoption is prompted also by a sincere wish and purjKDse to 
act in the spirit of peace and good will which should fill the hearts of our 
people. Redfield Proctor, Secretary of War." 

" ^Iayoralty op New Orleans, 

" City Hall, December 9, 1889. 
" Hon. Redfield Proctor, Secretary of War : 

"Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your telegram replying 
to mine announcing the death of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, formerly Secre- 
tary of War of the United States. 



610 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, 

" Permit me to say that the kindly expressions therein do honor to the 
man, and will go far toward removing the sting inflicted in our people's 
hearts by the fact that the secretary cannot display from the "War Office the 
customary official signal of respect to a dead predecessor. 
" Respectfully your obedient servant. 

" Joseph A. Shakspeare, Mayor." 

Among a number of poems published in the New Orleans 
papers we select the following from the Times-Democrat, Decem- 
ber 6th : 

JEFFERSON DAVIS IS DEAD. 

"And God is love," fell on a nation's ears. 

As sounds of grief commingled with her praise, 
Told how a great man died ; great length of days 

Congealed not up the fountain of her tears. 

For he who'd led her armies held for years 

A place too dear to lose it in a maze 
Of any length of time, nor may the haze 

Of centuries efiace his love — or fears. 

A great man's dead ; and all the Southland mourns 

For more than a great chief — for he to all 
Was as a sire — yea! beloved all his land. 

His name, his deed — his very life adorns 
The page of history ; and at the call 

For vien, his great heart leaped — he Jed the band ! 
New Orleans, La. — Fred. Lucca Squires. 



"pray excuse me. 
Last Words of Jefferson Davis. 

0, great, true heart! these gentle, courteous words, 
Addressed to friends about thy dying bed, 

Proclaim a message clear as songs of birds, 
Which well may reach the living from the dead. 

0, world of hate ! who scoff" above his bier, 
Heed ye the message, gentle, yet so strong: 

He sought the right — unmoved by love or fear ; 
Excuse him that he could not bow to wrong ! 

O, world of love ! who mourn him near and far, 

Enshrine his message in each loyal soul, 
Though needed not. His memory, like a star. 

Shines ever on toward Honor's brightest goal. 

O, Kingly soul! O, silent, knightly lips. 

Which plead to be excused for work well done, 

Ye still attest — in spite of Death's eclipse — 
The Southland's chieftain was her humblest son! 

New Orleans, December 10, 1889. —S B. Elder. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA Til. 511 

The Association of the Army of Tennessee Veterans held an 
enthusiastic meeting at their hall on Tuesday night, December 
11th, the President, Colonel A. J. Lewis, in the chair. 

The Executive Committee presented suitable resolutions of 
respect to the memory of the great chief, after which General 
George W. Jones was called out and gave some deeply interest- 
ing reminiscences of his old college-mate and life-long friend. 

Rev. Dr. T. R. Markham had been fortunately selected as the 
orator of the evening, and made the following eloquent and 
appropriate speech, which was punctuated with generous ap- 
plause : 

ADDEESS OF DR. MAEKHAM. 

"Mr. President and Comrades : 

" You have often honored me by asking me to give voice to your convic- 
tions and emotions at our annual reunions. But to-night, in calling upon 
me to respond to resolutions which so fitly and felicitously express our 
appreciation and affection for him who through four eventful years guided 
our affairs, in this, while doing the highest honor, you have also laid upon 
me the weightiest burden. And I can only ask that the imperfectness of 
my utterance shall have this as its extenuation, that out of the abundance 
of the heart it will be spoken. 

"And those were eventful years through which he led us. Years of sun- 
shine and of storm, in which, its flag flung to the battle and the breeze, 
there lived, ruled, and warred a nation, a Confederacy, with its president, 
its statesmen, its Congress, its leaders, its soldiers, and its people— men stead- 
fast and true— and women (its flower and crown) who suffered and endured. 
That is history. 

" That past is secure, and as to-night its memories gather about our hearts 
and tremble on our lips, its achievements swell the souls, fire the spirits, 
and nerve the arms of freemen, and will while truth, honor and nobleness 
have name and praise among men. 

"Looking back, an air of romance pervades its origin and action, for its 
birth throes recall the fable of the crop of full-armed men that sprung from 
the brow of the Grecian Minerva. A nation of agriculturists, a class unused 
and indisposed to organization and combination, separate persons dwelling 
apart either in their narrower independencies or their wider principalities, 
and holding these in watch and ward in a feudalism jealous of intrusion, 
and with an individualism proud of its possessions, it imparted but this one 
advantage at the outset of the conflict which against such odds it waged 
so long and so well, that its farmers and their boys, and its planters and 



ri2 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

their sons, were ready for the fray, for they had been trained, after the man- 
ner cf the Persian Cyrus, 'to ride, to shoot, and to tell the truth.' 

'• Therefore, deceit and falsehood were not their dominating frailties, but 
rather an over-sensitiveness to the claims of honor, an excess of pride of 
spirit, and a being ' sudden and quick in quarrel.' 

"Without armories, foundries, or factories, destitute of ships and hindered 
by defective lines of inner transportation, the equipping its men, the manu- 
facturing of its guns, the casting of its cannon, and the assembling of its 
forces, so that, in their first fiery onset, they routed adversaries armed with 
the best of weapons and supplied from the amplest resources, seems a story 
worthy a place in the ' Arabian Nights,' a result recalling the magic efiect 
of the rubbing of Aladdin's lamp. 

"Nor were these adversaries like the people through whose wide domains 
the Greek Xenophon conducted the retreat of the immortal ' Ten Thou- 
sand.' Nor their armies as the Persian hordes pierced and parted by Alex* 
ander's wedge-shaped phalanx. But they were men of like descent, sprung 
from the same ancestral stock, who only needed time and training to make 
them 'foemen worthy of our brave men's steel'— men who, when they 
too had learned to ride and shoot, in their disciplined valor so made the 
two antagonistic forces peers that neither, without self-depreciation, might 
underestimate the other. 

"And now, surely, with us some master mind at the directing centre 
must have arranged so improvised a combination and shaped so eff'ective an 
organization, whose conjoined elements of force and action so speedily and 
promptly converged to the appointed place and achieved the planned pur- 
pose. 

"Such a man there was. A man selected as singularly suited to the place 
and work, and a man manifesting a fitness so seen by all, that the universal 
voice assigned the post to him. A soldier who in two wars had ' proved his 
armor' — one with the Indians on the frontier, and the other with Mexico's 
trained battalions. 

"A statesman who stood conspicuous in a Congress of which Clay, Cal- 
houn and "Webster were the ornaments and pride. An ex-Secretary of 
War, whose brilliant record is part of the national fame. And who, as 
* good wine needs no bush,' needs no flag at half-mast, that might have 
been lowered, by an official who missed his opportunity. Whose 'covert 
attempt to dwarf and minimize our cause,' (I quote the words of a vener- 
able rector of our city, Rev. Dr. Hedges, whose every heart-beat is loyal to 
our patriotic past) in the person of our hero and head, by styling him and 
his people 'I\Ir. Davis and his many friends,' can only recoil upon himself. 
"'Many friends!' Aye, the South is his friends. And ere the hour of 
noon to-morrow, when the doors of the Council Chamber, where his body 
lies in state, shall have closed, more than 100,000 eyes will have looked 



HTS SICKXESS AND DEA TIL f.lS 

their last in love and reverence on the venerated form and face of the ex- 
President of the Confederacy, ' Many friends !' let the telegrams from the 
Governors of States with their proclamations, the messages from the mayoi-s 
of cities and towns, and the officers of companies and corporations; let 
draped Southern homes, houses and hr.lls; let the cities and States contend- 
ing for the honor of giving his remains a resting plaoe; let the spontaneous 
gatherings of the people, through which to-morrow, at mid-day, an electric 
thrill will pass from the Chesapeake to the Rio Grande, from the Ohio fo 
the Gulf and from the Mississippi to the Atlantic; let the paeans of praise 
that in all these States shall be spoken and sung; let the ministers of 
religion sanctified by prayer and the divine word; let these make answer, 
and millions of attesting voices in a reverberating chorus swelling to the 
sky, will tell to our day and to all time, how, fiom Maryland to Texas, from 
Arkansas to Carolina, from Missouri to Florida, and from Kentucky to 
Louisiana, the people of these States, their faith in him re-affirmed, their 
affection freshened and their devotion deepened, embalm and bedew the 
memory of the man whom they delight to honor. 

"Behind him, through those years was a willing people, willing in the 
day of his power, 'who helped to make him great. A great people and a 
strong '—great in quality though not in quantity — not in numbers but in 
spirit, in courage in devotion. A citizen soldiery at the roll-call of whose 
commands men by the thousand cotild have stepped to the front worthy 
the comradeship of Caesar's Tenth Legion, of Cromwell's Ironsides, of Wel- 
lington's Scotch Grays, or of Napoleon's Old Guard. 

"At iiis side were Benjamin and Breckenridge, in whom dwelt the spirit 
of counsel and understanding, and at hand were Lee and Jackson, leaders, 
whose presence gave inspiration to all true and valiant souls, while Albert 
Sidney Johnston, Polk, Cleburne and Forrest, and others, whose ' name is 
legion,' upheld his arm and strengthened his soul. 

" And at home, men and boys, true as steel; women and girls, the peers of 
the noblest and best, who have given ministries of comfort and help to 
man, and faithful slaves tilling the soil for masters absent in camp and 
field ; all together working, serving and suffering for the one end and aim. 

"Men, we know, called his a personal government. If true, it sets on 
him the ineffaceable stamp of greatness. The man who, while caring for 
our encircling border and our extended coast, through four years, held at 
bay outnumbering forces, which returned recruited from their own and 
other lands (for the world responded to their plethoric purse) must have 
been as sleepless as Cerberus, as many eyed as Argus and as many handed 
as Briareus. One, whose firm mind, indomitable will, fixed purpose and 
quenchless spirit that never flagged nor faltered, stamped his asapersonalty 
of tremendous potency and impassive inflexibility. 



611 TUn DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUMIL 

" Reading yesterday, from the other side, a not unfriendly criticism, it wa.s 
eaid, Mr. Davis ^leii unrepcviard . And of what was he to repent? That as 
'a pood and faithful servant' he had obeyed the voice of his own sovereign 
State and then of his and her sister sovereignties? Repent ! Why, had the 
faintest whisper of such a word parted his lips, from a hundred Confederate 
cemeteries, and from a thousand battle-fields where sleep our undiscovered 
dead, skeleton forms, reanimated, turning uneasily in their graves, would 
have cried ' shame I' and have rent the heavens with their groans. He 
repent! Why should he? 

"Who repents? Not the men wlio through the war wore the gra^'. Not 
one woman. Thank God, our wives, sisters and mothers and the wives of 
your sons have never through one such utterance swelied the chorus of the 
time serving and the timid. 

" That to mc would be treason. Treason to truth and right, to honor and 
duty. A crime which through that war and after could not be laid at our 
door. Could it have been, the man whose memories we are reviving to- 
night, would have expiated that crime by the sheding of his blood. Never 
would he have stepped forth a free man from that f )rtress where they 
bound him in fetters of iron— fetters that we esteem anklets of gold, for he 
wore them for us. Chains whose clank makes music to our ears, for the 
Bound has in it the martyr ring. Relics of his suffering?!, which in our 
keeping would be held as Christians hold the wood of the cross. 

"Think you that, when his faithful follower and friend, that noble man 
and good priest, Father Hubert, knelt by that casket and prayed his prayer 
for the repose of his leader's soul, that he would have had those lips 
opened to make penitent confession of the leadership, as a sin un?hriven? 
You and I know what answer he would make. 

" Mr. Davis and we fought for the Constitution framed by our fathers. At 
Appomattox, by the arbitrament of arms, that Constitution was changed, 
we have accepted that change. And were we now for one hour to attempt 
that which we then endeavored through four years, that would be treason, 
which it was not in that day. Mr. Davis's release and the nolle prosequi of 
the law cleared us of that charge, our adversaries being themselves the 
judges. But while thus standing for our past, a past tons rich in recollec- 
tions of honor, truth and duty, we are equally clear in obeying that changed 
Constitution, and if need be sustaining it with our blood 

" Like Napoleon, Mr. Davis, after his career closed, live*! to learn souie- 
■what of the historic place that he would hold. But their lots were cast in 
striking and painful contrast. The great Frenchman in exile, a prisoner 
dying before his meridian. The great American, though expatriated, 
dwelling at home among his people, until past his fourscore, and having in 
largest measure ' that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obe- 
dience, troops of fi lends.' 



JIIS SICH'NESS AND DEA Til. 515 

"Spared to outlive envy, silence and calumny ; spared to advocate with his 
pen (a mightier weapon in liis hand than the sword) the cause a people that 
he loved ; while illustrating the law, ' be thou chaste as ice, as pureas snow, 
thou'lt not escape calumny,' it was his compensation that Beauvoir, his 
home beside the Mississippi sound, became a Mecca to which the feet of 
pilgrims turned from his own and other lands. And all who came felt the 
charm of his magnetic presence, of the union of dignity and suavity, of 
sweetness and sincerity of elegance, and simplicity that made him in man- 
ner perfect and in address complete. 

"Asa Christian, 'a devout man and a just,' a reverent worshiper of his 
Lord and of the truth, he had fuliilled to him God's promise to David, who 
had been a man of war from his youth, * With long life will I satisfy him 
and show him my salvation' under the home roof of a friend to whom hia 
heart, through sixty years, had been tiedasthe heart of David to Jonathan, 
he fell gently asleep. His two dear daughters were absent, the one we call 
The Daughter of the Confederacy across the sea. But the one nearest in 
all the world was there, giving to the last her loving ministry, and with her 
that friend of old whose home was as his, and other valued friends who in 
that supreme hour learned that 

The chamber where the good man meets his fate 

Is privileged beyond the common wallca 

Of virtuous life, quite on the verge of heaven. 

"To-morrow we will follow him, with solemn and reverent tread to his 
temporary tomb ; and somehow it seems to me that his final resting place, 
until he is wakened at the resurrection of the just, should be here near the 
mouth of the great river on whose banks at Briarfield, with reading, thought 
and study he mewed his mighty youth, taking thence his eagle flight ever 
after, moving upward toward the sun. 

" His name and fame we can commit to mankind and time. The sugges- 
tion that we leave his epitaph to the future and have him for the present 
share that in which, in the tomb of the Army of Tennessee, our own Dimitry 
has crystallized Albert Sidney Johnston's character and career, shared by the 
two who were twin in spirit and one in affection, if they are placed near 
together, is not an unfelicitous conception. 

" To us, comrades, the overarching heavens glitter with bright symbols cf 
his character and career. It moved in its orbit with the steadiness of a star 
in its course; like to a liquid planet, it lighted the earth beneath with the 
serene shining of its brightening way, and when its course was run its set- 
ting was as the setting of earth's golden sun— all radiant and glorious with 
the brightness and beauty of its evening sky, its convoying clouds clothe*! 
with light and bathed in splendor, and its sinking orb encircled with a 
halo of heaven's own glory." 



616 2HE DA VIS 31EM0RIAL VOL UME. 

■ In response to calls, brief speeches were also made by Gen- 
eral S. B. Buckner, of Kentucky; General T. T, Munford,of Vir- 
ginia; Dr. J. William Jones, of Atlanta; General S. W. Fergu- 
son, of Mississippi ; General S. D. Lee, of Mississippi, and 
Judge Walter H. Rogers, of New Orleans, which elicited loud 
applause. 

THE FLORAL OFFERINGS. 

Never, perhaps, were floral offerings at a funeral more pro- 
fuse or more beautiful. It is almost impossible to describe 
them in detail, and in full, but we give the following from the 
Times- Democrat of December 11th, only adding that a large 
number of beautiful designs were brought in after this was 
"Written : 

"The great stand at the west end of the Council Chamber, heavily draped 
in black, has, from the very hour the remains arrived, been brightened by 
a wealth of superb flowers. It was not until yesterday noon, however 
that the mass of floral tributes now crowding every particle of available, 
f-pacein the apartment began to arrive. From mid-day until 12 o'clock last 
night Sergeant Hurley was kept busy bringing in the magnificent designs 
and finding place for them in the flower-perfumed death chamber. 

"The picture presented as the setting sun sent its long shafts of golden 
light through the hall of mourning was beautiful and impressive. A 
very wall of roses had grown up on all sides of the beloved chief ; blossoms 
of every conceivable tint glorifying the room and ladening the soft summer- 
like breezes stealing through with rare and delicious fragrance. In spite of 
the unusually warm weather every bloom was as fresh as when gathered by 
loving fingers for the honored dead. Not a leaf had turned. The delicate 
petals stood firm and fair, each rose and lily erect, as though conscious of 
the dignity of their mission. 

"Many were the touching incidents connected with the presentation Of 
these floral offerings. With tear-stained cheeks and dimmed eyes, some 
stepped quietly up to the big table near the door and laid great dewy clus- 
ters of hyacinths, daisies and lilies down without a word or card to teli 
whence they came. Not a few handed the officers near by beautiful bou- 
quets of exotics, and in voices quivering with emotion begged they might 
be laid near their departed chief. Nearly all murmured apologies for the 
simplicity of their gifts, saying they knew they could bring nothing worthy 
of tlie dead, but they loved him who was gone and gave what they had. 



mS S1CK2\ESS AND DBA TIL 517 

"When the public school teachers came after 3 o'clock, each one bad a 
handful of flowers she reverently laid beside the bier. Some brought vio- 
lets they swept gently across the glass lid carrying them away again as 
cherished souvenirs of the solemn occasion. As the day wore on hundreds 
of bouquets and gmall designs were counted that had come anonymously, 
no line or sign save deep spontaneous affection telling from whom or why 
they were there. After all these seemed the most affecting of the scores of 
gifts given. "Without a care for any personal connection, they were indiffer- 
ent save that their mites be added to the overflowing devotion, impelling 
a united people to illuminate this disappearance of all that is mortal of a 
great man from the face of the earth. 

"Amidst the wealth of floral designs was a splendid colossal ornamentid 
cross eight feet in height, a triumph in flowers, and as noble a piece of 
handiwork as was ever seen. From a great base made of golden wheat and 
tall fern fronds sprang the superb shaft and arms woven of yellow rosebuds, 
white camelias, Roman hyacinths, forget-me-nots, smilax,and maiden hair. 
Two immense palm branches supported the flowery column, a dove in the 
hollow centre of the transverse held in its beak a long, rich silk ribbon, the 
floating ends of which was caught by the snowy birds poised on either side. 
In raised purple letters on the narrow white scarf were traced the words, 
* Sympathy and love of the Confederate Association of Missouri.' 

"From Captain P. A. Alba, of Mobile, was sent a large piece exquisite as a 
cameo inthe taste and delicacy of its fashioning. The arch was a mass of 
gorgeous white camelias studdinga back ground of mignonette, ox-eyed daisies 
and maiden hair fern. This was four feet in height, with gates ajar woven 
of the same flowers as the arch and base. Across the flowers lay a broad' 
satin band with the words: 'Peaceful be thy rest.' The cotton used in 
packing could not be entirely removed and left a fine veiling of the fabric 
over the flowers. 

"The most aristocratic of the numerous pieces was a dainty tribute from ■ 
the Woman's Jefferson Davis Circle. The base was of yellow wheat, the 
viol above of daisies and feathery immortelles. The dove, with out-spread ' 
wings above, had an ivy leaf in its bill and a ribbon lettered with the ini- 
tials of the society. 

"In a graceful arch of rich purple immortelles swung a golden gate of 
chrysanthemums, a charming piece of floral work sent by the Sons and 
Daughters of Veterans Louisiana Artillery, Army Northern Virginia, with 
the inscription, ' To the hero of our fathers.' 

"Two broad palm branches towered above a flowery rquare of beautiful 
flowers, making the design pent by Battery B, Louisiana I ield Artillery, 
fully four feet in height. AVitiiin the arch were the gates of yellow chry- 
santhemums. A bird of snowy jtiumage, under the shadow of the palms 
held the ribbon with Battery B's name. 



518 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"From McDonogh High School, No. 3, camo a shield of glowing^ red 
roses, crossed by a sabre of violets — its shield of yellow blossoms. The 
palm leaf and dove completed the beauty of the piece. 

"A pillow of ivy, bearing a crescent of white jessamine blooms, with a 
palm branch and sheaf of wheat, represents the Girls' High School. 

" Mrs. Samuel Delgardo, a broad vase of flowers, an anchor surmounted 
Ly a crown. 

" Forbes Bivouac, of the Tennessee Veterans' Association, J. J. Crussman, 
president, sent a heart of tuberoses upon a plaque of Marechal Neil buds 
and smilax with a sheaf of grain caught in a scythe of flowers. A big, 
beautiful wreath of rose geraniums and Southern garden flowers brought 
rom ' Beauvoir,' the dead statesman's home, hung between the two side 
windows over against the catafalque. Mrs. H. W. W. Reynolds, a mother 
<leeply bereaved by the loss of her son in the army, sent a wreath of oak 
leaves with the red, white and red in ribbons crossed in the centre. 

" A cross of camelias, roses and chrysanthemums had a card attached 
with the words ' For my dear old Confederate chieftain,' from Mrs. Wm. 
E. Jackson, Augusta, Ga. 

" One of the noblest and grandest of the many superb designs Avas re 
ceived from the students of the Jesuit College— a colossal urn five feet high, 
woven of the finest African immortelles, its grace and surpassing beauty 
attracted universal attention and admiration. A blazing cross of co:al 
honeysuckle decorated the graceful bowl, from which sprung delicate 
handles of pink buds. From the full throat of the vase rose a huge cluster 
of dewy duchess roses, lilies and ferns. A Latin inscription was traced 
along the base. 

"The Dyker Institute contributed a charming anchor and cross, with flut- 
tering white ribbons. The Ladies' Confederate INIemorial Association was 
represented by an original and a very lovely piece— weights and balances of 
scarlet and white flowers, the card accompanying it inscribed, 'A tribute of 
love and loyalty to the memory of our honored and illustrious President, 
Jefierson Davis.' The dark-green ivy foundation threw into high relief the 
brilliancy of the finely-woven flowers. Mrs. "William H. Carroll and Miss 
Mattie McKay, a floral tribute, with love and sympathy expressed. Miss 
Leovy, a bouquet. From the Girls' High School another design, a beauti- 
ful plaque of roses. 'Ich Dien,' circle of King's Daughters, a handsome 
l)Ouquct of palms, ferns, and fragrant white jessamine, the rare cluster tied 
w ith dark violet ribbons. 

" From Mrs. George Nicholson, a magnificent screen of A'ariegated blossoms, 
with a gorgeous cluster of pale-pink roses pinned to the centre. The 
Woman's Club presented a pillow of freshly-cut roses, the word ' Finis ' 
wrought in delicate immortelles down in one corner. A basket of greens 
and roses, with long, swinging handle, sent anonymously. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 519 

"Mrs. Luther Mansbip's name, as vice-president of the Confederate Memo- 
rial Association of Mississippi, was attaclied to a tall, handsome scroll of 
roses, with flowers for the patriot, soldier, and statesman. A broken column 
'of white blossoms, five feet high, with a crescent, bore the signature of J. S. 
Richardson. Mrs. Charles E. Bateson, of New York, a bouquet ; Mrs. Peter 
Francesco Pescud, a bouquet ; Mrs. J. H. Stauffer, a bouquet, with sympa- 
thy; ]\Irs. King and Miss Annie King, a bouquet; Mrs. Andrew Stewart, a 
big pillow of roses. 

"The Veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia sent a wreath of bay- 
leaves, with the red, white, and red. Confederate States Cavalry, a fair 
crown and cresent above a rich flowery base of yellow chrysanthemums. 
Three boxes of loose rare cut flowers from Mrs. Thomas H. Allen, and Mrs. 
Thomas H. Allen, Jr. Mrs. John McEnery, a beautiful shield of half-blown 
roses, and the red, white, and red in rich silk ribbons. 

" From Mrs. W. R. Stauffer, a cross of white flowers. Two exquisite designs 
came from McDonogh School No. 8, saying the tributes were 'For one 
whom the little children loved.' Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Kennedy, palms and 
roses, artistically woven together. The teachers of the High School also 
sent a graceful arrangement of roses and palms. 

''A large wreath of light blue and pale gold immortelles duplicated the 
handsome badge worn by the famous AVashington Artillery, and occupied 
the place of honor in the black screen in the west end of the Council 
Chamber. The Savannah (Georgia) Veteran Association sent a sumptuous 
wreath of camelias encircling a pillow of roses, on which was outlined in 
purple immortelles the words, ' Our President.' Beneath were woven the 
Confederate battle-flags, tied with a bit of crape. The Washington Girls' 
School, No. 1, an anchor and cross of roses and ferns. 

" The Boys' High School was lavish in its tribute, sending a huge book, two 
feet square, of flowers, with clasps and back of purple immortelles. A cluster 
of perfect roses adorned the upper lid, and completed one of the handsomest 
of the many superb designs. 

" From the medical department of Tulane University came a tall easel 
holding a rose shield, crossed by a long sabre of fine blossoms, and a dove 
poised above the elegant arrangement. Although it made no show what- 
ever among the host of gorgeous floral designs that crowded the still stately 
death-chamber, no single tribute sent to the dead ex-President breathed a 
purer or more fervent spirit of love than came with a modest box expressed 
from South Carolina. When opened it was found to contain two bunchea 
of sweet violets, packed in wet sponge to keep them fresh, and the simple 
words, 'From an old soldier and his son.' Another inconspicuous gift came 
inscribed, 'The poor widow's mite to the chief of our cherished Confede- 
racy. E. M. C 



520 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"Among the very handsome designs wasa pillow of "roses, hyacinths, came- 
lias, and carnations, with a crown of violets on a cross and palm leaves four 
feet high, sent by the Eichmond R. E. Lee Camp. 

"During the afternoon the distinguished tragedian, Frederick Warde. 
visited the hall and asked for permission to view the remains, in order to 
make a careful study of the dead statesman's face. Mayor Shakspeare granted 
the right, but before passing to the bier Mr. AVard added to the already over- 
flowing wealth of flowers with a sphere of charming half-blown roses hand- 
somely arranged. 

"The Quarante Club sent a splendid model of the old Confederate flag in 
exquisite flowers, three feet high, made of bravadiers, white jessaminesand 
delicate ferns. The Boys' High School sent yet another tribute, a pillow of 
natural roses, cornelian pinks, violets and smilax, with handsome hya- 
cinths. 

"From South Carolina came a pyramid of snow-white blossoms, palms in 
the centre, beneath which were crossed canons, and the words South Caro- 
lina in red. 

"The Louisiana Historical Association, of which Mr. Davis was chairman, 
sent a great chair of the rarest blossoms, tall and gracefully designed, a 
most costly and imposing piece, that m:ide a fine appearance. 

" The Louisiana Sugar and Rice Exchange offered a large massive wreath 
of half-opened roses, with crossed trumpets resting on the broad dark green 
palm leaves, and the w'ords 'Ad Sum.' 

" A tall, splendid white cross, four feet high, surmounted by a crown of 
crimson roses came from Mayor Ellyson, of Richmond, Va. 

"Texas' floral tribute to the illustrious dead is magnificent. It is made of 
the finest flowers, all fresh from the gardens, forming the neatest and most 
appropriate offering at the bier of the gallant chieftain. The design is three 
feet wide and is set upon a solid base of flowers, making in all about six 
feet in height. The large lone star, made of white monte-flora jessamines, 
tinted with delicate pink and white bouvardias, has a raised centre of Mare- 
chid Neil roses and maiden-hair ferns, and between the points of the star 
arc raised letters in crimson bouvardias bearing the name, Texas This i:S 
all gracefully set upon a field of sweet alyssum, and the whole encircled by 
a green Avreath of laurel and oak. 

" The design is beautifully mounted upon a large base of pure white flowers 
of different varieties. The effect is splendid, and well worthy of the grand 
State from which it comes. It is well that the gallant hero whose pure life 
"was an offering upon the altar of the sunny land he loved so well sleeps 
softly beneath its loveliest flowers, wdiich are sprinkled with the tears of 
veterans who followed our standard in an honorable contest, and now weep 
at the honored grave of our chief. 

" ]Mr. R. ]\Iaitreg:ive a wreath of mixed oak and laurel. Cobb's Kentucky 
Battalion remembered the dead statesman with a magnificent floral harp. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 521 

six feet high, all of natural flowers, roses and bravanliers, with a spray of 
oak leaves in the centre. The Kappa Sigma Fraternity of Tulane Univer- 
sity sent a star and crescent four feet high. In the centre of the star were the 
initials ' K. E.,' and worked in white jessamine, their badge and the Tulane 
colors. 

"Dallas, Tex., sent her floral oflering in the shape of a massive ship 
made of natural flowers, which arrived at 11 o'clock last night. Flying 
from the masthead was the emblematic words, 'The Lost Cause,' ' Ship of 
State.' It is one of the finest pieces received." 

THE NEW ORLEANS RESOLUTIONS. 

We can only find space for a few of the resolutions adopted 
by the various organizations of the city. 

The Bench and Bar Association adopted the following 
after eloquent and appropriate speeches from Chief-Justice 
Bermudez, Judge Walter H. Rogers, Associate-Justice Poche, 
and Hon. Thomas J. Semmes : 

'"Resolved, by the Bench and Bar of Louisiana, That we deplore the loss of 
Jeff'erson Davis, the venerable ex-President of the late Confederate States, 
who departed this life in the city of New Orleans on the 6th day of Decem- 
ber, 1889, in the eighty -second year of his age, honored and revered by the 
people, who, with abiding faith, had entrusted him with their lives, their 
fortunes and their honor. Allhou;.'h misfortune attended the cause of 
Avhich he was the chivalrous representative, we regard with satisfaction and 
jiride the spotless integrity and resolute devotion to duty which character- 
ized his career through life, and we emphatically approve the manly senti- 
ments expressed by him in the last public paper which emanated from his 
pen: 'Instead of being traitors, w^e were loyal to our States; instead of 
being rebels against the Union, we were defenders of the Constitution as 
framed by its founders and expounded by them. We do not fear the ver- 
(lict of posterity on the purity of our motives, or the sincerity of our belief, 
which our sacrifices and our career sufficiently attested.' 

'^ Resolved, That we tender the family of the deceased the assurance of our 
sincere sympathy. 

" Resolved, That the chairman transmit a copy of these resolutions to the 
family of the deceased, and that we attend the funeral in a body, as a trib- 
ute of respect to the memory of the Hon. Jefferson Davis." 

The Veteran Confederate Cavalry Association adopted the 
following : 

" Whereas, The wise Ruler of the Universe has seen fit to take from us our 
beloved comrade and late illustrious Commander-in-chief Jefferson Davis; 



o22 THE DAVIS MEMOniAL VOLUME. 

that while bowing to the inscrutable will and omniscient wisdom of the 
giver of all things, we desire to leave npon record a testimonial, showing the 
undying affection and esteem which we cherished for him while living, and 
for his hallowed memory, not alone for his peerless ability, dauntless cour- 
age and giand career, but added to these his gentleness, resignation. Chris- 
tian virtues and splendid characteristics, all of w'hich rank his one of the 
most illustrious names, coupled as it is with truth, justice and honor, which 
the world has ever produced. 

"Resolved, That honored as this association is by having his name on the 
roll of its membership, we will cherish his name, his fame and his memory 
a? the most priceless legacy which has been handed down to us and to our 
children. 

" Resolved, That all the members of this association go in a body, as a guard 
and bivouac the last night on earth with the mortal remains of the late Hon. 
.Jefferson Davis." 

At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Board of 
Trade the following resolutions were adopted : 

" Jefferson Davis is dead. The i)atriot, the hero, the statesman has gone to 
the bourne whence none return and no more shall be seen of us to command 
respectful homage and admiration, and while we mourn the great loss sus- 
tained by our people, we feel that his life and memory are embalmed in the 
hearts of his countrymen, and that his namo and patriotism shall never 
perish so long as the spirit of liberty shall remain the foundation upon 
which our government f-hallrest. 

"Therefore we bow with reverence to the will tf God and tender to the 
widow and daughters of deceased our heartfelt sympathy and condolence, 
assuring them that their future welfare shall always remain dear to the 
peojile of the South, and be guarded by them rs a sacred treasure, worthy 
the keeping of a chivalrous and devoted people. 

"That record be made of these proceedings on the minutes of the New 
Orleans Board of Trade, Limited, and that copies thereof be engrossed and 
delivered to the wife and daughters of Mr. Davis. 

" The foIloAving was also adopted : 

"Resolved, To close the Board of Trade, Limited, on AVedncsday next, and 
that the flag be placed at half-mast, and the entranca to and the Board 
rooms be draped in mourning for thirty days. 

"At a meeting of the law class of Tulane University, the following reso- 
lutions were adopted : 

" Whereas, The South has been called upon to mourn the death of the Hon. 
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, we, the students of the 
law department of Tulane University, desirous of adding our humble trib- 
ute to the memory of the distinguished dead, hereby resolve that ia rccog- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TIL 523 

nition of the services that he has rendered to this and our sister States, and 
with a due sense of appreciation of that martyrdom which ho suffered for 
principles dear to us all, with a knowledge of his abilities as a statesman, 
his heroism as a soldier and his virtues as a Christian, do lament his depart- 
ure from among those who loved and revered him ; be it further 

" Resolved, That we do offer to his wife and family our deepest sympathy and 
affection in this moment of bereavement; and it is further 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be spread on the minutes of tliis 
law class, and acojiy l)e sent to Mrs. Davis. 

"Wm. K.Horn, Chairman; Geo. K. Favrot, Jolm Dymond, Jr., AVm. L. 
Hughes, Marshall J. Gasquet. 

"The law class will attend the funeral in a body. 

"At a meeting of the New Orleans Stock Exchange, the following resolu- 
tions, introduced by Mr. Durant Da Ponte, were unanimously adopted : 

•' Whereas, In the course of nature it has pleased the Almighty to remove 
from among us Hon. Jefferson Davis, a man who, by the purity of his char- 
acter and the eminence of his intellect, had earned a recognized place, not 
only in the anthology of his country, but among the great figures of history, 
and, at the grave of such a man, animosities should be forgotten and criticism 
disarmed ; therefore. 

"Ue it resolved, That the members of this Exchange participate in the uni- 
versal grief which this loss should entail upon the nation; and that they 
are confident that, as the memory of their lamented leader is now revered 
by the people of the South, so, in the time to come, it will be to all Ameri- 
cans an illustration of the virtues which adorn and the intellect which 
exalts the human character. 

" Be it further resolved, That we tender our deepest sympathy to the bereaved 
family of the deceased, and that the secretary of the Exchange be 
instructed to present to them a copy of these resolutions. 

"At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Cotton 
Exchange the following was unanimously adopted: 

" The membersof the New Orleans Cotton Exchange, individually and as a 
body, join in the universal mourning at the demise of a great and good man, 
Jefferson Davis. Although full of years and arrived at a time Avhen his 
removal from our midst in the ordinary course of nature could scarcely 
have been prolonged for a much greater period, his loss is felt none the less 
kcenl}-, and we share in the profound sorrow whi(;h prevails throughout the 
South at the death of the man who has for so many years held so promi- 
nent a place before the people. Without touching upon any of the great 
questions of which Mr. Davis was a partial embodiment, as business men 
and representatives of many sections at home and abroad, we view Mr. 
Davis in the light of one who possessed the affection and reverence of the 
South, and sincerely participate in the sorrow at his loss. Mr. Davis's 



524 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

career is too well known to every man, woman, and child of this section to 
need even a partial recital at our hands. Clearer heads and abler brains 
will do all this, and history will afford the true meed of praise for his great- 
ness. 

"We mourn with our fellow-citizens and friends. 

" On motion it was ordered that the above be spread on the minutes of the 
Exchange ; also that it be published and a copy thereof sent to the family 
of Mr. Davis. 

" Charles Ciiaffe, President. 
" Henry G. Hester, Secretary. 

" At the same time and place it was 

'• Resolved, To close ihe Exchange at 12 o'clock on Wednesday next, and 
that the flag be placed at half-mast and the front of the Exchange draped in 
mourning until the day after the funeral. 

" We, the undersigned colored citizens of the city of New Orleans, La., 
desire to lay our tribute of honor and to join in the universal feeling which 
pervades this Southern country, of which we are and intend to be beneficent 
factors, to the memory of the great and good man, Jefferson Davis, recently 
passed from us, whose memory will be guarded by us as by all. 

" Signed by G. J. McCree. John Lasalle, Michael Kirk, Hooks, Michael 

Fitzgerald, Christian Rheinhard, C. Ingraham, J. B. Chandler, Charles AV. 
Davis, C. Foster, D. INIullett, C. J. Strange, Frank Carson, J. M. Robinson, 
William Davis, Robert Johnson. 

" At a meeting of the Faculty of the Academic Department of Tulanc Uni- 
versity the following resolutions, were unanimously adopted: 

" Resolved, 1. That the Faculty of Tulane University adds avoice of sympa- 
thy to the general expression of sorrow felt throughout the South at the 
death of Jefferson Davis. 

" Resolved, 2. That in tho5e personal characteristics which have endeared 
him to the people of the South, his integrity, his self-poise, his gentleness 
and urbanity, his warm interest in all that tends to uplift humanity, his 
firm but unobtrusive piety, his fearless and constant advocacy of principles 
which he deemed great, strong and fundamental, whether for individual 
conduct in private life or for the directions of public affairs, we recognize 
the loftiest type of a Christian manhood and an American statesman. 

'* Resolved, 3. In the public services rendered by Jefferson Davis not only to 
the Southern people, but to the cause of representative government every- 
where, we recognize that noble purpose and lofty aim which may well 
become the study and example of the youth of the country, assured that 
in the life in which he lived and the primiples which he illustrated through 
long and eventful years, through gain and loss, through prosperity and 
adversity, peace and in war truth is stronger than time, more enduring than 
success, and must at the end lead to its own vindication. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 525 

" Resolved, 4. That for the exercise of those virtues which make a private 
life of public worth, and for those noble qualities which make of public 
services a private benefaction, we hold the name of Jefferson Davis in our 
warmest affection, as in our highest esteem, and extend to his bereaved 
family and friends our earnest sympathy and respectful condolence. 

" Itcsolred, 5. That the university buildings be appropriately draped, that 
all exercises of the academic department be suspended on AVednesday, 
11th, the day of the funeral, and that the officers, faculty and students unite 
as a body in participating in the public exercises appointed for that day. 

" Resolved, 6. Tiiat these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the fac- 
ulty, and a copy sent to the family of Mr. Davis." 

" At a meeting of the students of the Medical Department of Tulane Uni- 
versity, a committee consisting of Messrs. E. C. Hunt, chairman ; F. D. 
Smythe, Secretaiy ; J. J. Stevens, J. A. K. Birchett, J. R. Jiggetts, G. R. 
Eckles, Pv. D. Session, K. S. Walker, INIississippi ; II. B, Wallet, E. D. Fenner, 
II. S. Lewis, Louisiana; E. Jowen, Georgia; C. A. Jeffries, South Carolina ; 
D. W. Coter, North Carolina ; F. M. Thigpen, Alabama ; H. C. Black, Texas ; 
J. S. Davis, Virginia ; E. J. Reeves, Arkansas; McKinstry, Florida; J. T. 
Waffer, Kentucky; R. T. Isbester, Tennessee ; W. T.Adams, California, and 
P. Arnold, Illinois, were appointed to draft suitable resolutions expressive 
of the regret of the association at the death of the ex-President. Their 
report, which was unanimously adopted, was as follows: 

"Whereas we have learned with profound regret of the death of the illus- 
trious statesman, Jefferson Davis ; therefore be it 

" Resolved, That we mourn with the whole South the death of the man 
that for so many years has occupied the highest place in the respect and 
affection of the Southern people, whose interests and well-being were ever 
the subjects of his deepest solicitude. The South has lost in him the man 
that was the peculiar representative of her ideas in that great struggle for 
those rights which she deemed inalienably hers, and for which she freely 
poured forth the best blood of her sons and sacrificed the whole of her 
material prosperity. On his shoulders not only fell a tremendous share of 
the cares and responsibilities of the great struggle, but when the arbitration 
of the sword had solved the vexed questions that convulsed the nation, 
his was the burden of the reproach and obloquy so freely showered. How 
his burden — grievous as it was — was bravely and uncomplainingly borne, 
is known to all mankind. History shall do justice to his honesty and sin- 
giene.-s of purpose, his inflexible moral courage, his devotion to the ideas 
which he represented. It is with pride that we, as Americans, can point 
to a record so consistent, so blameless, as that of the great old man who 
has gone to his rest : 

" His life was gentle, and the elements 
&o mixed in nim that Matures might stand up 
And say to all the world : ' This was a man,' " 



526 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

" HesolveJ, That we tender the bereaved faoiily our sincere and heartfelt 
sympathy, in this their great affliction. While theirs is the greatest loss, may 
it console them to know that thousands of other hearts share in their sor- 
row and bereavement. 

" llesolved, T!ha,t we request the faculty to suspend all exercises on the 
day of the interment, and that we attend the funeral in a body. 

"In the civil district court the tribute of respect to the memory of the 
illustrious dead was indeed heartfelt. Judges Monroe, Rightor, Voorhies, 
Ellis, and King met in chambers and decided that each division should 
adjourn. 

"Judge Monroe ordered the following entry made in the minutes of his 
court : 

"Considering that Almighty God has seen fit in his wisdom to call from 
earth the soul of a citizen who, during a long life devoted to the service of 
his fellow-men, ever attracted the affection and commanded the respect of 
those whom he served; that this, our community, and this, our country, are 
to-day mourning a soldier who knew no fear; a statesman whose eminent 
services they are proud to recognize, and a patriot whose virtues have shed 
lustre upon history itself; considering that, in the death of Jefferson Davis, 
the bench and the bar, republican government, and all those who love their 
country, have alike sustained an irreparable loss, and unite in a common 
Eorrow, an;l in a common desire to pay that respect which is due to so great 
and so melancholy an occasion, it is ordered that business in this court bi.; 
suspended and the court stand adjourned. 

"The other judges also made appropriate entries upon the minutes of the 
court." 

Delegations and individuals from all of the Confederate 
States continued to pour in up to the morning of the funeral, 
until the hotels were all full, and the great city was crowded 
with visitors. 

Streams of visitors continued to pour by the bier until the 
doors were closed on Wednesday morning for the funeral obse- 
quies. 

th:. funeral obsequies 

Wednesday morning, December 12th, was one of the most 
beautifiil, balmy days of the year, and it was a notable day in 
the annals of our Southland; for we laid in the tomb the pre- 
cious dust of our grand old chief, while in every city and town 
appropriate memorial services were held. 



HIS SICKNESS A ND DBA TIL 527 

We cull from the report of the Times-Democrat (ho foUowing 
very full, accurate, and deeply interesting account of the obse- 
quies; 

"A seemingly endless lino of sorrowing admirers who have passed tlirough 
the Council Chamber by ten^ of thousands since tlie remains of Mr, Davis 
were first conveyed to the City Hall continued yesterday from 7 o'clock in 
the morning until the clo'ck tolled tho h.yUi of ten. The light of early 
uuy illuminated the flower-scented chamber with its glory of December roses 
was as fair and sweet a spot as could be found on earth. In spite of the 
immense amount of det.;ul arrangements attendant on preparations for the 
imposing funeral ceremonies, the utmost quiet prevailed. No hasty tread 
or discordant tone disturbed the solemnity surrounding the cherished dead. 

"An immense concourse of residents and bcl:ited visitors iiasstd silently 
through, and for thirty minutes after an order had been issued to clear the 
hall, groups of six and ten men and women and children begged .so earnestly 
for admittance that until the last minute they v,cre permitted to view the 
body. It was easy to distinguish the visiting companies of militia, who 
ciimc in small detachments. All were fu.l of appreciation of the dignity of 
the occatiun. 

" Among those who arrived after 10 o'clock was Mrs. Wheat. The vener- 
able lady, bent and trembling under a weight of years, was supported ou 
the arm of Mr. Douglas West, and when she passed the bier her sobs were 
audible all over the room." Two conspicuous and distinguished figures were 
those of ]\Ir. M. U. Payne, of Boone county, Mo., who came in arm in 
arm Avith his aged brother, Mr. J. U. Payne, of New Orleans. Both are 
very old gentlemen, and had been close and life-long friends of Mr. Davis. 

"The Mobile Cadets, the Lomax Rifles with their chaplain. Rev. Mr. G. 
C. Tucker; the First Alabama division, the Columbus Rifles, tho Mobile 
Rifles, the Gulf City Guards, IMontgomery True Blues, Montgomery Grays, 
the Alabama State Artillery in a body, and a delegation from the Young 
Men's Benevolent Association were among those last to go through. Mr. 1.. 
Q. C. Lamar, Jr., of Missiosippi, and Mrs. A. W. Roberts, a n( ice of M:-. 
Davis, abo parsed. 

"Finally the time drew neT for the opening of the ceremonies. All 
tho3e not directly connected with the sad duties of the hour were rigidly 
excluded, and a deeper hush fell over the still chamber. T!ie military 
guard was doubled, and Mr. A. J. Lewis, as President of the Army of Ten- 
nessee, watched at the head of the bier. 

"So quietly, it was impossible to say when he entered, Father Hubert 
came for a last visit to the great man he loved. Mr. Lewis at once surren- 
dered his position, and with his gentle countenance deeply moved the aged 
priest prayed long and fervently over the still, white face beneath its clear 



528 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL CME. 

glass povering. Gradually the look of pain wore away and was replaced by a 
glow of joy. At this time the casket was covered with badges from the 
various army organizations and the honey bee buzzed bravely in the heart 
of a great cluster of loose white roses heaped over the patriot's breast. 
Father Hubert also gave way, and no sooner had Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomp- 
son and Fathers O'Connor, Miles and O'Shannon reverently looked upon 
the dead, than at a signal from Mr. James G. Clark Ihe lid was brought for- 
wai-d to shut the face of Jefferson Davis away forever from the sight of the 
world. 

"The Southern Governors filed in at this moment, but were told they were 
too late, and so passed on. Soon the velvet cover was complete, and after 
wrapping the old army flag about the casket, a floral design, taken at ran- 
dom from the masses near, was laid over all. It was a beautiful and fitting 
accident of fortune that the emblem thus honored proved to be a noble 
cross of white jessamines and roses sent by the High School girls of New 
Orleans. It was placed on the coffin by Mr. P. F. Alba, of Mobile, with the 
crossed palm leaves sent by Mrs. W. H. King, just after Mr. Davis's deatli, 
which has never once been removed. 

"Precisely as the hour struck 12 the clergy entered the Council Chamber 
from the rear, Rev. J. Gordon Bakewell walking first, and fifteen in line, all 
wearing their robes. The sight was deeply impressive. With his long crape 
scarf, Mr. Lewis stood immovable at the head, while Private Pete Mitchell, 
in a full suit of Confederate gray, guarded the foot of the bier. After the 
Episcopal clergy had passed, ministers of all denominations followed, every 
church and religious body being largely represented. 

"At this moment the detachment of Louisiana field artillery detailed to 
bear the body forth formed on either side of the casket, and grasping its 
heavy silver bars, raised the beloved remains and carried the chief away 
from his flower-crowned resting place. AVith slow and solemn tread the 
pall-bearers walked close behind the coffin. Among them Comniodore Hun- 
ter and Dr. Jones, two aged gentlemen, helping each other to follow for the 
last time their adored leader. 

" The hush of death had settled in the great corridor, with its heavy 
draperies of fluttering crape, and no murmur broke the stillness as the sad 
procession passed out toward the sunshine. Reaching the stately stone 
portico of the City Hall, the soldiers tenderly supported thedr precious bur- 
den and laid it down in the eyes of the assembled multitudes. The garish 
light of day fell upon a striking scene. Nearly all of those near to the dead 
were elderly men. Faces full of the dignity of years and eyes familiar with 
wild battle-fields looked with misty vision upon him they had brought forth 
to the people. Thesurpliced clergymen formed in a wide semi-circle to one 
side. 

" The young sold iers who were to carry him hence held their positions beside 
the bier. The two bishops stood at the foot of the casket, while pall- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 529 

bearers and ministers of all denominations crowded the upper flights of 
steps. By this time the sun was throwing its clear, powerful mid-day rays 
upon the hall, blinding all those facing the light, but ilhiminating the pic- 
ture for the crowds viewing it from a distance. 

"As the great deep-throated bell in the tall spire of Dr. Palmer's church 
tolled the first funeral stroke, a minute-gun was fired, and from the lips of 
Rev. Mr. Thompson, of Biloxi, fell those words of divine consolation, begin- 
ning the soleimn ritual for the burial of the dead: 

"I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in 
Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and 
believeth in Me, shall never die." — St. John xi., 25, 2G, 

"Then came the psalm, as sung by Rev. Mr. Thomas R.Martin, with hearty 
responses from the united clergy : 

" Lord, let me know my end and the number of my days, that I may be 
certified how long I have to live. 

" As the last amen was said. Rev. Dr. Thomas R. Markham read the lesson 
in solemn tones, beginning : 

" I Cor., XV., 20: JN'ow is Christ risen from the dead and become the first 
fruits of them that slept. 

" When the last note had died away Right Rev. John Nicholas Galleher, 
Bishop of Louisiana, stepped a trifle forward and in slow, measured accents, 
spoke as follows : 

" When we utter our prayers to-day for those who are distressed in mind ; 
when we lift our petitions to the INIost Merciful, and ask a benediction on 
the desolate, we remember that one household above others is bitterly 
bereaved, and that hearts closely knitted to our own are deeply distressed. 

" For the master of Beauvoir lies dead under the drooping flag of the 
saddened city ; the light of his dwelling has gone out and left it lonely for 
all the days to come. 

" Surely we grieve with those who weep the tender tears of homely pain 
and trouble and there is not a sigh of the Gulf breeze that sways the swing- 
ing moss on the cypress trees sheltering their home but finds an answer in 
our over-burdened breathing. 

" We recall with sincerest sympathy the wifely w'oe that can be measure<l 
only by the sacred deeps of wifely devotion ; and our hearts go travelling 
across the heaving Atlantic seas to meet and comfort if we might the child, 
who coming home, shall for once not b6 able to bring all the sweet splen- 
dors of the sunshine with her. 

"Let us bend with the stricken household and pay the ready tribute of 
our tears. And then, acknowledging the stress and surge of a people's 
sorrow^, say that the stately tree of our Southern wood, planted in power, 
nourished by kindly dews, branching in brave luxuriance and scarred by 
many storms lies uprooted ! 

S4 



530 THK DAVIS Mi: MO RIAL VOLUME. 

"The end of a long and lofty life has come; and a moving volume of 
human history has been closed and clasped. The strange and sudden dig- 
nity of death has been added to the fine and resolute dignity of living. 

"A man who has in his person and history symbolized the solemn con. 
victions and tragic fortunes of millions of men cannot jiass into the glooms 
that gather around a grave witliout sign or token from the surcharged 
bosoms of those he leaves behind; and when Jeffurson Davis, reacliing 
'the very sea-mark of his utmost sail,' goes to his God, not even the most 
ignoble can chide the majestic mourning, the sorrowing honors of a last 
salute. 

"I am not here to stir by a breath the embers of a settled strife ; to speak 
one word unworthy of him and of the hour. What is writ is writ in the 
world's memory and in the books of God. But 1 am here to say for our 
help and inspiration that this man, as a Christian and a churchman, was a 
lover of all high and righteous things ; as a citizen, was fashioned in the 
old, faithful typo; as a soldier was marked and fitted for more than f;ime> 
the Lord Godhuving set on him the seal of a j^ure knighthood ; as a statesman' 
he was the peer of the princes in that realm ; and as a patriot, through every 
day of his illustrious life, was an incorruptible and impassionoil defender of 
the liberties of men. 

"Gracious and gentle, even to the lowliest — nay, especially to them — ten- 
der as he was brave, he deserved to win all the love that followed. 

" Fearless and unselfish, he could not well escape the life-long conflicts to 
which he was committed. Greatly and strangely misconceived, he bore 
injustice with the calmness befitting his place. lie suffered many and 
grievous wrongs, suffered most for the sake of others, and those others will 
remember him and his unflinching fidelity with deepening gratitude, while 
the Potomac seeks the Chesapeake, or the Mississippi sweeps by Briarfield 
on its way to the INIexican sea. 

"When on the December midnight the worn warrior joined the ranks of 
the patient and prevailing ones, who 

"'Loved their land witli love far brought,' 

if one of the mighty dead gave the cliallenge : 

"'Art thou of us? 
Ho answered: I am here.' 

'• The benediction was given, and then came the most affecting portion of 
the entire service. Dr. Thompson surrendered his post at the head of the 
bier,and Rev. Father Hubert, of the Jesuit Church, stooil once more beside 
the beloved remains. The priest's sensitive face was eloquent with over- 
whelming emotion. His gentle voice trembled with suppressed sorrow, and 
there were few dry eyes as he prayed with almost passionate fervor: 

"'O, God! loving and compassionate Father, in the name of my heart- 
broken comradeo, I beseech Thee to behold us in our bereavement, from 



532 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

whom Thou hast taken one w-ho was to us a chief, a leader, and a noble and 
constant exemplar. Thou knowest how in time of his power he ever took care 
that his soldiers should have with them Thy ministers, to cheer, to warn 
to teach them how to fight and die for the right. See him now at the bar 
of Thy judgment, at the throne of thy mercy-seat, and to him let justice 
and mercy be showft. And may we one day with him love and bless and 
praise Thee forever more, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.' 

"Throughout the services the bell tolled, and at regular intervals minute- 
guns were fired. 

"A signal was made, the bands struck up a funei'al march, and the sol- 
diers on duty again lifted the casket to carry it to the caisson in waiting. 
The clergy, with the bishops at their head, first passed down the steps, then 
came the casket, followed by the pall-bearers and other clergy in attendance, 
walking two-and-two. Reverently, and in the presence of a multitude who 
uncovered as the remains were brought to the carriage, the casket was 
placed within the catafalque. 

LAID TO REST. 

"While yet the heavy gray mists hung dark and damp in the streets, as 
if clinging to the wet pavements, though the stars were already paling in 
the widening dawn of yesterday, many a war-worn veteran was astir. It 
was no new thing for these grizzled sons of the South to turn out before the 
sun at the call of duty, but many years of peace and comparative inactivity 
had made them unused to it. They had many a time responded to the mid- 
night alarm, or to the reveille as the first streaks of dawn were painting the 
eastern horizon ; they had rallied around the stars and bars, with snow and 
ice under foot and grim, sullen storm-clouds drifting over head ; they had 
wakened 'neath the leaden rain of the enemy, and they had known what 
it was to contend against overwhelming odds when they knew their cause 
was lost ; but they never had a sadder awakening than that of yesterday. 
The great standard-bearer of the Confederacy had at last laid down the 
burden of life, and the day had come when the last farewells must be said. 

" Away beyond the midnight preceding, veterans had been cqming and 
going beneath the sombre funeral draperies that enshrouded the great stone 
columns and massive doorways of the City Hall, and the sleepy guards had 
hardly said good night to the last of these ere they were greeted by the 
early comers of yesterday. Steadily the multitudes gathered as the day 
wore on. 

" The latest visitors were not there for idle curiosity. They did not come 
to New Orleans that they might have it to say that they had seen the great 
statesman on his bier. As they looked on the face of the dead, the flushed 
cheek, the swelling throat, the swimming eye, and now and then a salt tear 
stealing down a bronzed and furrowed cheek, told that the memory of Jef- 
ferson Davis was that of a friend, a comrade, a chieftain. 



JUS SICKNESS AND DEATH. • 533 

" While the visits to the death chamber were in progress the crowds were 
gathering fast in the streets. Soldiers in uniform were hurrying to their 
rendezvous, while civilians were drifting slowly and leisurely toward Lafa- 
yette square. The early comers loujiged wearily on the grass before there 
were sufficient numbers assembled to make it worth while to secure places 
from which they might witness the formation of the grand and solemn 
pageant. 

"About 11 o'clock, however, streams of humanity began to pour into the 
square through every street that opens upon it, and before the procession 
had taken form the square and its surroundings looked like an almost un- 
broken mass of men, women and children. Every doorway, gallery or win- 
dow commanding a view of the square was crowded, while the banquettes 
of every street leading out of it were filled to the very curbstones with 
dense, moving masses of humanity for several blocks from the square. 

"More and more brilliant did the scene become as the morning woi-e on 
and the preparations for the pageant progressed. 

" Though |the early morning had been misty with a dappled and half 
threatenmg sky, every trace of cloud and mist rolled away before mid- 
day, and a flood of golden sunlight was being poured out of an unclouded 
sky of deepest and purest blue when the first note of the solemn funeral 
service floated from behind the sombre draperies that shrouded the massive 
colonnade of the City Hall. 

"The square was packed with a mass of humanity in the comparatively 
dark attire of civilians, while all around this ran a deep border of military 
whose uniforms of blue and gray and green in varying shades, with facings, 
caps, and trappings of white, scarlet, bluff", blue, and gold, gleamed in the 
sunlight, looking not unlike a gorgeous and brilliant fringe upon a giant 
mantle of black. 

" The service at the City Hall was a brief one, and soon the mournful 
tolling of the bells and the deep booming from out the iron throats of the 
minute-guns told tha*^ the ashes of Jefferson Davis M'ere being borne to a 
bed of dreamless rest. 

" l^laintive dirges rose above the subdued murmur of the multitudes that 
lined the streets. Tattered and smoke-stained battle flags furled and 
swathed in sable crape were borne aloft by maimed and scarred veterans of 
the war while the drums, whose martial throbs had in the days that are 
gone thrilled many a Southern heart, where thick dun clouds of battle 
smoke were pierced by leaden hail, now gave out only muifled sobs to the 
rhythm of the slow and measured tread of thousands who marched sorrow- 
ing to enact the last sad scene of the great national tragedy. 

"The monster procession extended so far beyond the line of vision from 
any given point that the eye could not picture it as a whole. There were 
youthful soldiers in brilliant uniforms and gilded trappings, and there were 



534 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

grizzled men whose-bronzed cheeks, soldierly bearing and a certain unbend- 
ing determination in their look that stamped them as veterans of the late 
war. They needed neither badge nor uniform to established their identity, 
which, with nothing else to mark it, would have sufficiently appeared in 
scarred faces, empty sleeves and halting gaits. 

"Slowly the vast procession moved through the streets with that decorous 
solemnity that comes of heartfelt but unostentatious and manly sorrow, 
while the vast concourse of people, estimated at 200,000, that thronged 
the banquettes, the galleries, the windows, and even the housetops, all 
along the long line of march, looked on in sorrowing silence. 

'•' With that spirit of sturdy heroism that long ago won for them and their 
comrades undying fame the staunch old veterans marched all the way to 
the cemetery behind the body of their fallen leader unmindful of dust, heat, 
and fatigue that proved sufficient to overcome more than one of tiie more 
youthful soldiers in uniform. 

" As the sombre cortege passed slowly beneath the broad arch opening 
into Metairie Cemetery the beautiful life-like statue of that other hero of the 
Confederacy, Albert Sidney Johnston was seen on the right, veiled in crape, 
as if even the insentiate bronze mourned the fallen statesman. 

" Slowly and sadly the procession threaded its way along the white shelled 
avenues of that beautiful city of the silent. The snowy tomb glistening in 
the mellow light of the afternoon sun looked to be rising out of a plain in 
which the emerald and gold of growing and ripened grasses were min- 
gled with exquisite effect. Here an orange tree with gleaming foliage of 
deepest green was bending beneath its burden of golden fruit ; roses were 
everywhere looking their freshest and brightest, while the foliage of the 
shade trees, as well as that of the forest border which fringes the inclosure> 
wore a gorgeous blending of richest green and fiery bronze. 

" At last the procession halted before a great, verdant mound, surmounted 
by a massive pedestal of graj^ stone from which rose a tall, slender shaft 
bearing aloft the statute of still another Southern hero, Stonewall Jackson. 
Here, with his comrades of the Army of Norther Virginia, were the ashes 
of the dead chieftain to be laid at rest. 

" The pedestal at the base of the shaft was almost hidden by rich and 
rare floral designs, while around the shaft from cap to base was twined a 
spiral wreath. 

" Soon a cordon of military was extended around the tomb, and in a few- 
moments thousands of people were standing outside the cordon waiting to 
witness the burial rites. 

"Those who were permitted to pass within the cordon entered the inclo- 
sure with uncovered heads, and as the veterans filed around the tomb they 
showered upon it fresh cut flowers till the air was redolent of their deli- 
cious fragrance. 




TOMH ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINI V, METAIRIE CEMETERY. 

VktERANS and GrAKDS OF TTOXOR AWAITINO THR RkIWAINS. 



536 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"At last the casket, half covered with the old Confederate flag and strewn 
with flowers, was born aloft and placed at the entrance of the sepulchre. 
The solemn service of the Episcopal Church was performed. Faintly and 
with inexpressible sadness came the intonations of the surpliced choir and 
the soft obligato of the cornets to the ears of the vast multitude bej^ond the 
cordon. 

" Just as the rites were begun a soft, feather}' cloud of golden bronze mel- 
lowed the sunlight that flooded the place as if great nature itself would 
lend solemnity to the scene, and as the ceremony progressed the light 
became more and more softened, while thousands listened for the faint and 
far off" tones with bated breath; and not even the faintest breeze stirred the 
sere leaves on trees or shrub. 

" At last, clear, distinct and full of pleading pathos, came that grand peti- 
tion, 

Rock of ages, cleft for me, 
Let rr.e hide myself in Thee. 
" Then in deeper and even more earnest tones carae the Avords : 
Not the labor of my hands, 
Can fulfill Thy law's demands. 
"And then with l)oundless fervor came the sublime refrain : 
In my hands no price I bring. 
Simply to Thy cross I cling. 

" As the last stanza was sung many a veteran's cheek was wet, and there 
were voices that mingled chooking sobs with the words. 

While I draw this fleeting breath. 
Whtn my eyelids closed in death. 

l\ock of Ages, cleft for me. 
Let me hide myself in Thee. 

"As the burial rites were ended the declining sun sank deeper among the 
clouds of purple and bronze in the western horizon, the shadows were 
lengthening and depening, and the short winter day was fast drawing to a 
close. Puff's of smoke curled upward as the cannons boomed the parting 
salute telling that the great leader of the Confederacy had been laid to rest, 
and before the tiny smoke clouds had faded in empty air the sun had hid- 
den his face in a cloak of purple cloud, whose curling upper rim, marked 
with a border of fla:ning gold, told where he had gone down. 

•'Thus was broken another cord that bound the living, throbbing heart of 
the South to the dead, but loved and unforgotten past. 

THE FUNERAL PliOCESSION. 

THE OKG.WIZATIONS COMPOSING THE SIX DIVISIONS I.V LINE. 

" At 12 o'clock sharp. General John Glynn had everything in readiness to 
move, but the religious ceremonies were still in progress on the portico. 
Chief-of-Police Hennessey and his men were also ready to start. They 







m 











_J 



538 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL U3IE, 

kept the street in frout of the City Hall clear, so that nothing might inter- 
fere with the commands when they started to move. At precisely 12:30 
o!clock Chief-of-Police David C. Hennessey, naounted and in full uniform, 
commanded a picked detachment of his corps, that headed the procession 
and cleared the way for it through the crowded thoroughfares over which 
the line marched. 

" The route of parade was up St. Charles street, around Lee Circle to Cal- 
liope, to Camp, down to Chartres, to St. Louis, to Royal, to Canal, and out to 
the cemeteries. 

"Behind Chief Hennessey were Captains Collein, Barrett, Donnally, Ser- 
geants Walsh and Lynch mounted. 

" Then came Sergeants Day, JMcCabe and Blancher afoot, A detachment 
of forty-eight picked men W'ere under command of Corporal C/Ooper, and 
marched twelve abreast. 

"Then came the honorary marshal, Governer, Gordon of Georgia, and 
General Glynn, marshal! of the day. 

"General Glynn was followed by his staff: Lieutenant-Colonel John D. 
Scott, A. A. G., chief of staff; Lieutenant-Colonel E. C. Fenner, inspector- 
general; Colonel L. J. Fremaux, quartermaster; Captain Charles H. Fenner, 
aid-de-camp. 

"In the roar of General Glynn's immediate staflf were the honorary aids, 
riding four abreast. They were: General Leon Jastremski, James A. Kins- 
ley, C. V. Labor, J. H. Renshaw, Major Gilbert Hall, John M. Avery, D. H. 
Lombard, E. J. Salvant, and ex-Mayor W. S. Reese, of Mobile. 

"There were a number of other gentlemen, who were among the honor- 
ary aid marshals, but they were on duty in other parts of the procession. 

" General Glynn and his staflf were mounted and in full military uniform. 
General Gordon, honorary marshal, was attired in black broadcloth and 
black gloves, and he wore a large silk sash, his ensign of office. The hon- 
orary aids were attired in black, wore silk hats and black gloves, and their 
left shoulders were ornamented with crape rosettes, the pentre of which 
contained a ' forget-me-not.' 

"The first division was composed of Brigadier-General Adolph Meyer and 
staff, detachment of city police, military escort, consisting of the troops of 
the first military district, and visiting military, clergy attending, physicians 
and pall-bearers in carriages, the bier and guard of honor and family of the 
deceased in carriages. 

"The first division was commanded l>y Brigadier-General Adolph Meyer. 
His staflT was Lieutenant-Colonel Clem. L. AValker, A. A. G.; Major W. H, 
Pinckard, A. I. G.; Major S". P. Walmsley, A. Q. M.; Major F. A. Behan, 
brigade ordnance officer; Major Blain Jamison, commissary; Dr. A. W. de 
Roaldes, brigade surgeon; Captain Wm. A. Brand, aid-de-camp. In addi- 
tion to the regular staff, there were present as guests Brigadier-General F. 
S. Myles, inspector-general on Governor Lowry's staflf, of Mississippi ; Col- 




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540 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

onel J. W. Parson, also of Governor Lowry's staff; Colonel Cox, of Texas, 
and Captains E. A. Jones, Lieutenants Dufour and Cohen of the Meyer bat- 
talion. These officers were all mounted. 

" Following General ISIeyer and staff came the Continental Guard's Band 
opening the march of the military column. 

" The first company was the Volunteer Southrons, of Vicksburg, Miss., 
under command of Captain C. J. Searles. This company was assigned the 
post of lionor by Captain Beanham, of the Louisiana Field Artillery, who 
had been assigned to this duty. Adjutant-General Wm. Henry, of Missis- 
sippi, made this request Decause of the close associations of the command 
with President Davis, and Captain Beanham promptly acceded. 

" There were twenty-eight men in line, rank and file, who wore uniforms of 
blue, with white shakos. They carried their flag in the rear, which was 
heavily draped in mourning. 

"The Columbus (Miss.) Riflemen came next. The Riflemen were repre- ' 
sentedby a detachment of twenty men, under command of Captain A. J. 
McDowell. Their gray uniforms, with black trimmings and white helmets, 
appeared to advantage. 

" Under the command of Captain D. P. Porter came the Capital Light 
^Guards of Jackson, Miss. This company had thirty men in line, whose 
blue uniforms, with white and gold trimmings and fatigue caps, were very 
becoming. 

"The Jefferson Davis Volunteers, of Fayette, Miss., with their high shakos, 
light blue trousers and dark blue frock coats, with buff trimmings were 
next in line. Captain L. R. Harrison was in command of twenty men, who 
made a soldierly appearance. 

" Preceded by a splendid brass band came the Alabama delegation from 
the First and Second reigiments. The staff of the Governor of Alabama 
and the regulars were also in line. They were : Charles P. Jones, adjutant- 
general; L.J. Lawson, inspector-general; M. P. Le Grand, judge advocate- 
general ; E. Stollenwerck, quartermaster general ; Paul Sanguinette, ordnance 
officer; James L. Tanner, A Steinhart, and J. F. Ross, aides-de-camp. 

"Next marched the Jefferson Volunteers of Birmingham, under Captain 
L. V. Clark, attired in blue uniforms trimmed with gold. They wore hel- 
mets ornamented with plumes, and luimbered thirty men rank and file. 

"The Mont;_'omery True Blues, Company K, Second Alabama Regiment, 
in connnand of Captain H. E. Stringfellow, marched in double rank. There 
were thirty-three rank and file in line. They wore tall black shakos with 
blue \uiiforms ornamented with gold. 

" Colonel Thomas G. Jones, of the Second Alabama Regiment, was at the 
head of the next company. 

"The next company was the Montgomery Greys, thirty-eight strong, Cap- 
tain W. J. Boothe in command. They wore handsome and becoming uni- 
form? of gray, trimmed in gold, with white shakos. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 541 

"Captain A. A. Wiley, in command of the Montgomery Mounted Rifles 
(dismounted), thirty-six strong, in dark blue, with buff trimming, followed 
the Grej'S. Although accustomed to parade in the saddle, the Rifles marched 
as steadily as the infantry commands. 

"The Montgomery Field Artillery, under command of Lieutenant W. R. 
Taylor, had twenty-seven men, clad in blue uniforms, trimmed in gold. 
They wore the regulationstripes of red on their pantaloons. 

" Headed by Captain G. C. Tucker, chaplain of the First Regiment Ala- 
bama State troops, came five companies belonging to that regiment, in com- 
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Dick Roper, 

" The first company to appear was the Lomax Rifles, who captnred the 
great troj)hy at AVashington a few years ago. The tall white hair plumes in 
their shakos, their uniform of dark blue with gold trimmings, and their 
highly polished muskets, made them one of the most conspicuous com- 
mands in the procession. Captain F. P. Davis commanded the thirty-two 
Lomax Riflemen. 

" Captain Murray next appeared with the famous Mobile Rifles, who are 
no strangers to New Orleans. Thirty men rank and file were in line. They 
wore bottle green uniforms trimmed in gold. 

"The Gulf City Guards, commanded by Captain A. C Ebeltorft, with 
thirty men, followed, wearing blue uniforms, trimmed in gold and red, and 
white helmets and plumes. The Guards presented a striking appearance. 

" Lieutenant R. A. Saddler commanded the Mobile Cadets, thirty strong. 
They were attired in Confederate gray, with black trimmings and black 
plush caps, ornamented with black plumes. Each man's arm was orna- 
mented with a band of crape. 

"The Alabama State Artillery, in blue uniforms, trimmed in red, under 
Captain R. S. Scales, had thirty men in line, and beside the commander at 
his post marched Sergeant Angelo Festorazzi, of the First regiment. 

" The Washington Artillery, headed by their own band, 3ame next. The 
battalion was under command of Lieutenant-Colonel John B. Richardson, 
assisted by Major Andrew Hero, Jr., and staff, as follows: Captain E. L 
Kursheedt, adjutant; C. L. C. Dupuy, ordnance officer; Joseph H. DeGrange, 
quartermaster; Alfred T. Baker, commissary; J. T. DeGrange, surgeon; Wil- 
liam W. Crane, sergeant-major; Gus Leefe, quartermaster-sergeant; Hy. 
Febal, commissary-sergeant ; Reeves, ordinance-sergeant, and Samuel Fitz- 
hugh, color-sergeant. 

'"First came a picked detachment of veterans of this historic command. 
They were under command of Major Robert Strong and Captain Emile J. 
O'Brien, and were attired in old Confederate gray uniforms, trimmed with 
red, wearing the regulation kepi. 

"Following this detachment marched sixty-five veterans of this com- 
mand, who kept step to the beat of the mufiled drum. Their movements 



542 ■ THE DAVLS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

were precise and exact, as only those of veterans can be. They were attired 
in black suits and wore the badge of the command. 

" On the right of the battalion, occupying posts of honor, were the Gate 
City Guards, of Atlanta. The post of honor on the left was occupied by the 
Dallas Light Artillery. They had telegraphe I fir horses (brought their 
guns with them), intending to appear mounteil, but the telegram was 
received too late. Next followed the three batteries of the Washington 
Artillery, numbering 125 men. 

"Captain Henry M. Isaacson commanded Battery C, thirty-eight men- 
Captain Underbill, Battery A, thirty -two men ; Captain Eugene May, Bat- 
tery B, thirty-nine men. 

"Sixteen artillerymen of the Dallas Light Artillery, under Captain A. P. 
Wozencraft, brought up the left of the line. They wore blue uniforms 
trimmed in red. 

"The Continental Guards, in their showy uniforms, followed the Wash- 
ington Artillery. The company was under command of Lieutenant E. K. 
Skinner, and turned out thirty-eight men, rank and file. Continentals in 
citizens' dress did duty at other points along the line. 

"The Tiro Al Bersaglio, officered by Captain Patorno, came next, divided 
into three companies, numbering about one hundred men, rank and file. 
Their dark olive-green uniforms and broad-brimmed, low-crowned black 
hats, freely garnished with black cocks' feathers, contrasted strikingly with 
the blue and gray uniforms of those who had preceded them. 

"The close-fitting blue uniforms, high, black hair shakos of the Louisiana 
Rifles, under Captain Charles H. Adams, came next. There were twenty 
men in line and a like number on guard at the cemetery. 

" Next came the clergy in carriages, as follows : 

"No 1. Bishops Galleher and Thompson. 

" No. 2. Rev. Messrs. Sessums, Bakewell, Snively and Wiggins. 

"No. 3. Rev. Fathers Fitzgerald, Smith, Moore, and O'Neil, of St. Joseph's 
Church. 

"No. 4. Rev. Messrs. Waters, Thompson, Markham, and Hedges. 

" No. 5. Rabbi I. L. Leucht and Rev. Messrs. R. W. Merrill, T. .T. Draine, 
and H. M. Smith. 

"No. 6. Rev. Fathers Miles O'Connor and O'Shannahan, from the Jesuits' 
Church. 

" No. 7. Rev. Messrs. Mallet, Elwang, Hall, and Blingsly. 

"No. 8. Father Hubert and Comrade EJ. Ryan, Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia. 

"No. 9. Rev. Messrs. Percival, Martin, Hunter, Bussey, and Trader. 

"No. 10. Rev. Messrs. Sch warts, Hyland, Lyle, Keole and Trawick. 

" Xo. 11. Rev. Fathers Mignot, of the Cathedral, and Ghasse, chancellor of 
the archbishop. 



i 



644 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"No. 12. Rev. "RTessrs. Minnegerode, Cleburne, Tardy, and Hammond. 
* Next came *^he following pall-bearers in carriages : 

" No. 1. Governors Watts and Lubbock and Generals Cabell and Wilcox. 

"No. 2. Justice C. E. Fenner, General George W. Jones, General Stephen 
D. Lee, and Rev. Dr. J. William Jones, of Atlanta. 

" No. 3. Ex-United Senator B. F. Jonas, Captain Leathers, Colonel Overton, 
of Tennessee, and Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, of Kentucky. 

" The other pall-bearers were in other portions of the parade. 

" Captain William Beanham, of Battery B, Louisiana Field Artillery, 
mounted, led the way for the funeral car, which was drawn by six black 
horses covered with black velvet housings. The horses stepping slowly and 
quietly along as if conscious of the solemnity of the occasion, were ridden by 
G. D. Alexis, W. W. Fredericks and Corporal F. B. Freeland, of Battery B, 
Louisiana Field Artillery. 

"The detail of the guard of honor had been selected from Battery B by 
request. Captain Beanham fixed the guard of honor as follows : 

" Warren Light Artillery, Vicksburg, Miss. — William Bussleman, D. B. 
Genasci, sergeants ; M. Gomes, Jr., John Valandingham. 

" Alabama State Artillery, Mobile, Ala. — Sergeants John F. Powers, W. W. 
Novell. 

" The funeral car was of strikingly artistic design, elegant in detail and 
constructed of rich material. 

" The sujaerstructure was mounted on a caisson. The platform upon 
which the casket was placed rested on three springs. There were six bronze 
Napoleon guns resting on their muzzles, forming columns rising from the 
platform, w'hich supported a canopy draped in heavy sable cloth, with a 
rich frieze and braid border. On the corners of the canopy rested six can- 
non balls, while the top of the canopy was ornamented with festooned 
American flags; between the cannon and resting against them were crossed 
muskets. 

" To the front of the car were two crossed cavalry sabres. The lower por- 
tion of the car was ornamented with rich silvered fringe, which covered 
part of the caisson. 

"To the rear of the cassion was the guard of honor from the Louisiana 
Field Artillery, consisting of a lieutenant and eight sergeants, who attended 
the remains at the City Hall and cemetery ; Lieutenant F. M. McKeough, 
Sergeants C. W. Brown, E. Devepas, R. J. Wire, J. J. O'Riley, W. J. Mc- 
Corkindale, G. B. Hamilton, A. H. Goodin, C. B. Guillotteand A. Aleix. 

"Lieutenant H. Bolivar Thompson, with a detachment, was in line with 
the Vicksburg Southerners, who had the right of the line. 

"Following the funeral car came the widow and relatives of Mr. Davis in 
carriages in the following order : 

"No. I.Mrs. Jefferson Davis, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Davis's daughter; Mr. J. U. 
Payne, an intimate friend, and General Joseph R. Davis, his nephew. 



546 JHE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"No. 2. Mrs. Ellen Keasy, niece of Mr. Davis; Hugh L. Davis, grand- 
nephew ; Mrs. General Joseph R. Davis ; Miss N. D. Smith, grandniece, and 
Misa Mamie Searles, great-grandniece. 

" No. 3. Attending physicians, Drs. Chaille and Bickham. 
• "No. 4. Mrs. A. R. Brousseau ; Mrs. Dr. C. P. Wilkinson, Miss Elsie White, 
grandnieces, and Mr. Sidney White, grandnephew. 

"No.- 5. Mrs. Mary Stamps, niece; Mr. E. H. Farrar ; Master Edgar Farrar 
and Misses IMary and Annie Farrar. 

"No. 6. Mr. Jefierson Davis Smith, grandnephew, Mrs. L. G. Balfour, grand- 
niece, Lulu, Gartley, Minnie and Hollie, children of Mrs. Balfour and great- 
nieces of ]\Ir. Davis. 

" No. 7. Misses Varina D., Mary L., and E. Hilton Howell, and W. H. Railey 
and W. F. Howell, nieces and nephew^s of Mrs. Davis. 

" No. 8. Girault Farrar and wife, and Mr. and Mrs. H. Richardson, cousins 
and nephews. 

"No. 9. Mrs. C. E. Fenner, Mr. E. D. Fenner, Guy and Gladys Fenner, 
and nurse. 

SECOND DIVISION. 

"The second division, marshalled by General W. J. Behan, was composed 
of Confederate Veteran Associations, local and Tisiting, the Ladies' Confed- 
erafe Monument Association, and distinguished lady guest in carriages. 

"Early yesterday forenoon the Confederate States Cavalry Veterans, ihem- 
bers of the association of the Army of Northern Virginia, visiting veterans, 
and sons and daughters of veterans flocked to the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia hall on Camp street, where Colonel George IMoorman, of the Confed- 
erate States Cavalry, and Captain Fred, A. Ober, of the Army of Northern 
Virginia, were receiving them and giving them badges and instructions 
as to the line of march. Shortly after 11 o'clock the veterans of both com- 
mands and the numerous visitors formed line in Commercial alley and 
marched up to Lafayette square, where they joined the Army of Tennessee, 
with other guests. 

" In falling into the line of march General Behan, with his staff of 
mounted officers, composed of Colonel George A. Williams, A. A. Magginis, 
Colonel E. H. McEwen, J. B. Sinnott, G. H. Dunbar, P. 0. Fazende, George 
E. Apps, E. H. McCaleb, W. B. Ringrose, IMajor J. G. Devereux and Colonel 
A. W. Crandall came directly behind the family carriages. 

" Following the marshalland his staff and heading the Army of Northern 
Virginia on the right and the Army of Tennessee on the left was the Eureka 
brass band. 

"The Army of Northern Virginia, on account of Mr. Fred. Washington 
being a pall-bearer, was commanded;by Captain Fred. A. Ober, with the fol- 
lowing officers : ]\Ir. Charles Smith, Major L. L. Lincoln, Mr. J. 31. Wilson 
and JNlr. J, Wax of Baton Rouge. 



BIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 547 

" The members of this association turned out about 400 strong, all wearing 
the red and white army badge and a white memorial badge. The flags of 
the company were furled and heavily draped with crape, in charge of the 
color guard, captained by ,T. M. Wilson. 

" A member of the Natchez Fencibles marched. He was the only rep- 
resentative in line of that old company, which was organized in 1824. 

" The Army of Tennessee, which marched on the left of the Army of 
Northern Virginia, was officered by Colonel W. T. Cluverius, commander, 
and Messrs. Screven, Bullett, Santana and Petit. This association had 
about 350 men in line, decorated with white memorial badges similar to 
those of the Army of Northern Virginia. 

" Following the veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia came the 
Confederate State Cavalry veterans. This detachment was cammanded by 
Colonel George Moorman, assisted by Major John Henry Behan, ]\I-ajor 
D. A. Given being a pall-bearer. The command was about 150 strong. The 
memorial badges of this command were yellow with a black fringe. Head- 
ing this detachment was a veteran soldier, Peter JNPoreau, carrying a battle- 
v»'orn flag of the Second Louisiana Cavalry, entwined with the colors of the 
Confederate States Cavalry. This valuable relic is owned by Colonel W. G. 
Vincent, and it is claimed has gone through scores of battles greatly dis- 
figuring and soiling it, but making it dear to the hearts of ex-Confederates. 

" Follov.'ing the above veteran associations came visiting and unattached 
veterans, among whom were a small detachment of F. K. Zollicoffer's Camp, 
of Knoxville, Tenn. Adjutant Charles Ducloux carried the colors and wore 
an old gray cap that he had worn during the war. 

"A large detachment, numbering about one hundred and eighty of Mobile 
veterans of the Army of Tennessee, with Thomas Q. Barnes carrying the 
colors, made a large addition to the Army of Tennessee line. 

" Veterans of the Mexican war, about thirty in line, followed in the 
march of the funeral officered by Messrs. H. Marks, J. E. Stafford and 
Lyman. 

"Twelve old soldiers of Walthall's Camp I, Meridian, Mississippi, and 
Guibet's Battery, about fifty strong, were also among the veterans who 
paraded. 

" In the Army of Tennessee line were delegations from Mississippi, Ala- 
bama and Texas, and four members of Jefierson Davis's original com- 
pany, the 'Mississippi Rifles.' 

" Among the other veterans in line were four members of the Twelfth 
Mississippi, Colonel J. F. Shipp, commanding N. B. Forrest's Camp, a large 
Mississippi delegation, and Major J. H. Leathers, with twenty-five membeie 
of the Kentucky Confederate Association. 

"Governor Buckner, of the Kentuckians, was among the honorary pall- 
bearers. Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, active pall-bearer, and Colonel E. 



548 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Polk Johnston in carriage as State official of Kentucky, with a party of 
Louisiana State officials. 

" The Sons of Veterans of the Army of Tennessee turned out 106 strong, 
and made a fine appearance under Messrs. H. J. Prados, J. N. Augustin, 
Percy Campbell, C. C. Luzenburg and C. P. Johnston. Vernon Venables 
carried the colors of the association. 

"The Sons and Daughters of the Veterans of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia were officered by Messrs. P. Zerr, Louis Schell, W. S. Mcllroy and 
Albert Charles. They turned out about seventy-tive strong of both sexes. 

'' Following came the veterans of Battery B. Louisiana Field Artillery. 
There were twenty-four in line, and were commanded by Charles A. Thomas. 

" Following the veterans came the Ladies' Confederate Monumental Asso- 
ciation and visiting ladies in carriages The ladies occupied eight carriages, 
and among them were : Mrs. L. A. Adams, president of the association ; 
Mrs. M. A. Townsend, Mrs. D. A. S. Vaught, Mrs L. A. Schute, treasurer; 
Mrs. P. E. Pescud, Mrs. D. A. Given, Mrs. Libano, Mrs. W. J. Behan, Mrs. 
Judge Braughn, 

" But few members of the second division of the funeral droped out 
before the cemeteries were reached, although the road was hot and dusty, 
with no shade or protection from the blazing sun. 

" The Grand Army of the Republic did not participate in the funeral offi- 
cially, but fa number of the members of that organization attended the 
funeral individually. 

THE THIRD DIVISION. 

" The Third Division formed on Lafayette street, north side, with its 
right resting on St. Charles street and extending M^est. 

" The division was under the command of Marshal Generpl J. B. Vinet, 
aided by Captains Nobert Tregagnier and J. G. Blanchard. The entire 
division were arranged in carriages and wore white silk badges, on which 
the portrait of Mr. Davis was stamped and bore appropriate inscriptions. 

" After the band came the marshal and his aids, and they were followed 
by Governors Francis T. Nicholls of Louisiana, Robert Lowry, of Missis- 
sippi, Eagle of Arkansas, Fleming of Florida, Buckner of Kentucky, Rich- 
ardson of South Carolina, Fowle of North Carolina, Lieutenant-Governor 
Jeffries of Lousianna, Acting Adjutant General Faries, in the order named. 

" The next carriage contained Mrs. Governor Nicholls, her two daughters, 
Mrs. Justice Poche and Colonel Charles G. Larendon, who were followed by 
General Wright of Georgia, Chief-Justice Bermudez, Associate-.Justices, 
Poche and McEnery, of the Supreme Court of the State ; Judges Ellis, King, 
Voorhies and Monroe, of the C\y\\ District Court ; Judges McGloin and 
Kelly, of the Court of Appeals ; Judges R. H. Marr and J. G. Baker, of the 
Criminal District Court. 



iris SICKNUSS AND DEA TH. 549 

"The members of Governor Nicholls' staff, consisting of Adjutant-General 
Burt, Colonel Scott, Lieutenant-Colonel Fenner, Lieutenant-Colonel Cottram, 
and Colonel Gillespie, were followed by State Treasurer Pipes, Secretary of 
State Mason, Auditor Steele, Superintendent of Public Education Breaux, 
and Commissioner of Emigration Poole. 

" Next came Mayor Shakspeare and members of the Council, among whom 
were Messrs. Lhote, Hall, Lynd, Dudenhefer, Prague, Shelleck, Hodgson, 
Finlay, Hauer, Aitken, Beck, Brittin, Borman, Claiborne, Daniels, Delavigne, 
Haag, Hanemann, Hirsch, Hymel, Keppler, Lambert, Landry, Moulin, Stock- 
ton, Stoulig, and Major Schaumberg, secretary to the mayor. 

" The Board of Health was represented by President AVilkinson, Chief 
Sanitary Inspector Blanc, Secretary Saloman, Clerks Lanaux, Voorhies, 
Coalhasse, and Wills. Representing the State judiciary officers were Messrs. 
Vance, Carroll, Lee, C. H. Parker, I. W. Patton, Thomas Duffy, L. Arnauld, 
James Renshaw, Colonel Z. Zable, Samuel Kohlman, Joseph Demoruelle, 
and Louis Richards Higgins. 

"The Board of Trade delegation consisted of President Louis Bush, Vice- 
Presidents Hugh McCloskey and Breedlove Smith, Secretary Edwin Belknap^ 
Messrs. Udolpho Wolfe, T. J. McMillan, F. 0. Trepagnier, A. E. Morphy, J. 
H. Lafaye, W. A. Gordon, A. LeDuc, P. Farrelly, Garland AVolfe. 

'' The public officials of Alabama followed, and were succeeded by the 
staff and brigade of the officers of Governor Fowle, of North Carolina. 

"From the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives were Senators 
Goldthwaite, Larry O'Donnell, Cordell, United States Senator-elect White, 
Duggan, Bernard Shields, and Representative Larrieu. 

" The School Board was represented by Superintendent Easton and Messrs. 
Chaffe, Grandjean, and Seay. Delegations from the Chamber of Commerce^ 
Sugar and Rice Exchange, and the Stevedores and Longshoremen's Associa- 
tions followed, and the division closed with thirty-five members of the 
choir." 

FOURTH DIVISION. 

"The fourth division formed on the south side of Lafayette square, head 
resting on St. Charles street. Headed by a band of twenty-five pieces, play- 
ing a solemn funeral dirge, the column presented a fine appearance. 

"Marshalled by Colonel A. W. Hyatt, with his aids. Colonel Joseph 
Voegtle and Dr. William Hincks, the several organizations comprising this 
division marched with solemn tread toward the last bivouac of the dead. 

"At the head of this division, preceded by their band, marched the Uni- 
form Rank of Odd-Fellows, Canton Columbus No. 1, Patriarchs Militant, 
under command of A. S. Dwyer, nearly one hundred strong. This body 
presented a magnificent appearance in their handsome uniforms of dark 
blue and helmets surmounted by purple and red plumes. 



550 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

"Immediately behind came a battalion of Knights of Pythias, Unifornieil 
Rank. 

"A uniformed band preceded the Knights. Tlie battalion was uniformed 
in dark blue, with helmets and waving plumes. They carried their swords 
reversed, as did the preceding command. Orleans Division No. 1, and Asca- 
lon Division No. 3 were in command of Captain M. O'Rourke. Cajambe 
Division of Plaquemine, under command of Captain J A. Herbert, and 
Algiers Division of Algiers, under command of Captain A. Tuff, completed 
the battalion of over one hundred, all under the command of Major Henry 
Street. 

"The representatives from thirteen State camps of the Patriotic Order of 
the Sons of America closed the rear of the division. The members of the 
order were dressed in black, and wore sashes of red, white, and blue, with 
white agnlets. The order turned out over two hundred strong, and were 
preceded by a band playing funeral music. The appearance of this rising 
order in the line added much to the parade." 

THE FIFTH DIVISION. 

"When the procession passed the corner of St. Charles and Girod streets 
the fifth division, the head of which rested on the corner, filed in at the 
allotted place. 

. " The fifth division was composed of civic organizations, and was headed 
by Grand Marshal Charles H. Soniat and his aids, Messrs. James Legendre, 
Walter Deuegre, George H. Theard, and G. A. Lanaux. After the marshals 
came a brass band, and then followed 1,500 students from the medical and 
law departments of the Tulane University and the high school of the same 
institution. The delegation, the largest in the procession, was in charge of 
Drs. Miles, Souchon, Chaille, Lewis, and Professor Metz, and was followed 
by a delegation from the ambulance corps, arrayed in their neat blue uni- 
forms. 

" The students from the Tulane University marched by fours, and wore 
suspended from tlae lapels of their coats a broad strip of black ribbon with 
edges of gray. In the centre of the badge were inscribed the words 'Jeffer- 
son Davis' in steel gray. The ambulance students were decorated with 
stripes of crape tied about the arm. The students from Mississippi were 
given the place of honor in the order of march in the delegation, and were 
succeeded by those from Texas and other States, while the students from 
Louisiana brought up the rear. 

" Next came a delegation, two hundred and thirty strong, of students from 
the Boys' High School, under the charge of Professor J. V. Calhoun, and in 
respect to the honored dead a thin strip of crape was bound about the arm 
of each one in the ranks. The students were divided into three divisions, 
emblematic of the years of study at the high school, and were followed by 



iris SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 551 

the captains of all the British steamships in port. The delegation num- 
'bered twelve, and was preceded by a large British flag drained in mourning. 

" A delegation of tifty of the members from the Alumni Association of the 
Jesuits' College was the next in line, and were preceded by a field band. 
The badges worn by the delegates were of white silk, with the inscription 
' Alumni Association J. C." printed thereon in black. 

" Twenty of the members of Guibets' Battery Benevolent Association, 
headed by President B. Roman, followed. They wore white silk badges, 
with the name of the association printed thereon. Jefferson parish sent a 
joint delegation of 300 men under the command of Mr. Louis Fruling. The 
delegation consisted of 150 members of the Lee Benevolent Association, in 
charge of Mr. Edward Ries, and thel remainder was made up of delegates 
from David Crockett Fire Company No. 1, Gould Fire Company No. 2, 
Mechanics' Hook and Ladder, and the Citizens' and Taxpayers' Association. 
The flags, three in number, werQ draped with crape and the men wore white 
silk badges, bearing the inscription : ' In memoriam. [Portrait of jNIr. Davis]. 
Died Dec. 6, 1889. Jefferson Parish Delegation.' 

'*' Next in line came a delegation of twenty-five from the Typographical 
Union No. 17, in charge of the Secretary Richard A. Norman. The delegates 
wore black satin badges, on which the following was inscribed in gilt letters : 
' Typographical Union No. 17, New Orleans.' The Union sent an elegant 
and appropriate floral offering to be placed in the mound. The design was 
of natural flowers and stood five feet high — a crescent and star. Above the 
crescent a dove was perched and from either side hung streamers, on which 
the name of the organization was inscribed. 

" Headed by President John Breen, a delegation of twenty-five from the 
Screwmen's Benevolent Association was the next in line. Owing to the fact 
that so much shipping w^as going on in the port and so many of the screw- 
men were very busy the full force of the organization could not attend the 
funeral, but sent a delegation. They w^ore black silk badges, with white 
rosettes, and the edges were fringed with gilt. On the badges the name of 
the organization was inscribed. 

" Following the screwmen came a delegation of twenty-five from the Cot- 
ton Yardmen's Association, under the marshalship of President Daniel 
Mahoney. They wore the blue badges of the association, fringed with gilt, 
and had their flags furled about the poles and bound with crape. 

"Then followed the delegation from the Longshoremen's Benevolent 
Association, in charge of their President, Henry Reilly. Most of the men 
being busy working on the levee, the association could not attend in a body. 
They wore a neat badge of mourning. 

" Headed by a brass Dand and under the command of State Delegate Cap- 
tain John Fitzpatrick followed a hundred members of the Ancient Order of 
Hibernians in two divisions, the first in charge of County Delegate Joha 



552 tup: DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Breen, the second headed by Mr. Maurice Kelley. The delegation consisted 
of members fiom the six divisions of the order and wore their full regalia of 
emerald green sashes, bespangled and ornamented with harps and fringe, 
and bore the letters A. O. H. The badges were of white silk and bore 
appropriate inscriptions, and the banner and flags of the order were heavily 
draped. 

"A joint delegation of 700 members of the Columbia Athletic Club and 
Sons of Louisiana Benevolent Association followed in the order named, and 
were in charge of Messrs. A. Cared and J. Weinfurther. The badges were 
two in number, of white silk, and bore the inscriptions • S. O. L.,' and ' C. 
A. C.,' respectively. 

" Twenty-five representatives of all the branches of the Catholic Knights 
of America, under the command of Supreme Director James David Coleman, 
next followed. They wore white silk memorial badges. 

"The Fifth Division closed with the entire force, 300 strong, of the South- 
ern Athletic Club, in charge of Second Vice-President J. C. Campbell. The 
club made a fine appearance, and wore small black silk badges on which the 
letters ' S. A. C.,' were inscribed in steel gray. 

SIXTH DIVISION. 

" This division formed on Julia street, with its right resting on St. Charles, 
running west and was composed of representatives of the Firemen's Chari- 
table Association of New Orleans, and the exempt and active members of the 
volunteer fire department of this city. While the companies did not, by 
any means, turn out their full membership, the average was about thirty 
men, this placing over 1,000 firemen in the line. They fell into line in the 
following order : First came a carriage carrying in front a magnificent floral 
oflfering, a crescent and star, bearing the words, ' Patriot and Statesman.' 
In the carriage were Mr. I. N. Marks, president of the Fireman's Charitable 
Association ; Charles A Butler, T. C. Flannagan, and Henry Schriber. Fol- 
lowing the carriage was a band with muflied drum and then Chief Thomas 
O'Conner and his assistants, Andy Lynch and J. D. Donovan. 

" Leading the line of firemen was Volunteer No. 1, led by her foreman, 
Jacob Housser, with his trumpet draped with crape. About thirty firemen 
followed in red shirts, dark trousers with white caps. 

"St. Bernard No. 1, of St. Bernard, was second in the line. The'company 
had ten men with white shirts, black trousers and black caps, and were in 
charge of Foreman Flescher. 

" The following companies then came in the order named : Mississippi 
Steam Fire Company No. 2, with forty men, wearing white shirts, black 
trousers, belts, and black gloves. Foreman Dan. A. Boss was in command. 

" Vigilent No. 3, with twenty-five men, was in command of First, Assistant 
Foreman Charles Cruso. 



r^,fe',..*"-*'"-i-fei 




THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 555 

" Lafayette Hook and Ladder No. 1, with about twenty men in line, was 
in charge of Fofeman August Klein. 

" Columbia No. 5, had about twenty-five men in line. They were in charge 
of Foreman James AValsh. 

"Louisiana Hose, led by a band of music, had about thirty men in line. 
They were in charge of Foreman Edward Schwartz. 

" Mechanics' 6, had thirty men in line. Mr. H. F. Caymo, their foreman, 
was at their head. 

" American Hook and Ladder No. 2, turned out thirty members strong. 
They were under charge of Foreman W. Allen. 

" Phoenix No. 8, with Foreman Louis KnoiDp at their head, had twenty- 
five men in line. 

" Creole No. 9, with their Second- Assistant Foreman August ISIiller in the 
lead, thirty-five men. 

" Protector No. 9, the junior company, paraded in the rear of Creole 9. 

" Good Will No. 10, with Foreman Max. T.Miller, turned out with twenty- 
five men. 

" Irad Ferry No. 12, headed by a band of music and in charge of Foreman 
J. J. McGinnis, had thirty-five men in line. 

" Hope Hook and Ladder No. 3, F. A. Sanchex, first assistant-foreman, 
appeared with twenty-five men in line. 

" Perseverence No. 14, Foreman Chris. Boeshelsen, had about thirty men 
in line. 

" Philadelphia No. l-l, had forty men behind their foreman, F. J. Mackey. 

" Jackson No. 18, in command of F. S. Housen, foreman, was represented 
by thirty members. 

" Washington No. 20, headed by a band of music, and led by Foreman J. 
Petrie, had twenty-five men in the line. 

" Pelican No. 4, had thirty men marching in the column. 

" Orleans No. 21, had twenty representatives. 

" Jeflerson 22, presented twenty men, in charge of Foreman J. Becker. 

" Chalmette 23 turned out with thirty-tw^o men, under Foreman J Eenne. 

" Crescent 24, had twenty men in line, wearing red shirts and black pants. 

" Metairie No. 4, were representtd by a delegation, and were followed in 
the parade by delegations from the Sixth District Fire Department repre- 
senting Pioneer No. 1, Phillips No. 4 ; Young America and Protector No. 2. 
They were headed by Chief Winn and his aids. 

AT METAIRIE. 

THE REMAINS DEPOSITED IN THE TOMB OP THE ARMY OP NORTHERN VIRGXNiA. 

" The beautiful city of the dead, one of the handsomest in the United 
States, selected as the temporary resting place for the remains of the illus- 
trious Southerner, was never more lovely than on yesterday. Its bright 



556 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

shelled walks, bordered with shrubbery, interspersed with ornamental 
trees, were never more inviting, and the very atmosphere was redolent with 
the perfume of flowers. 

" The chaste and elegant marble sepulchres wherein repose the relics of 
the loved and cherished departed shone with dazzling brightness in the 
glad sunlight, and attested by their scrupulous cleanliness the care and atten- 
tion which the affection of the living have bestowed upon them. 

" The tomb of the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, in 
which were interred the remains of the ex-President, occupies a point in 
the northeastern portion of the cemetery, and is one of the graves furthest 
removed from its entrance. 

" A number of subterranean marble vaults, surmounted by a mound of 
turf forms the tomb upon which towers a monument fifty feet in height. 
The apex of this column consists of a statute of Stonewall Jackson. 

" The tomb bears the following inscription : 

" ' From Manassas to Appomattox, 1861 to 1865.' It occupies a decided 
place of vantage, and from its elevated tableau commands an interesting 
view of the country in the immediate vicinity. 

" During the early morning hours decorator J, H. Menard and a corps of 
assistants busied themselves in completing a task at which they were 
engaged all through the previous night, that of arranging, with judicious 
taste, upon the tomb the innumerable floral tributes of love and affection 
received from the friends of Mr. Davis in the South. After long and assid- 
uous labor the work was finally finished, and a happier combination of color 
could not be conceived. 

" With artistic hand and an eye for the beautiful, immortelles, hyacinths, 
camelias, lillies, pansies, variegated roses and all the wealth of the flowery 
kingdom, wrought in tasteful masterpieces of the florists' art, adorned the 
grave, which was now truly metamorphosed into a bed of flowers. As a 
fitting climax the column itself was festooned with laurel and oak leaves 
from its base to the top. 

" The Louisiana Rifles received the signal distinction of doing guard duty 
at the grounds, and Sergeant James Littlefield, M. Heisman, corporal of 
the guard, with a detachment of ten men from the Louisiana Rifles, arrived 
at the cemetery at 9 A. M., and assumed charge of the aisles at each inter- 
section. 

" Notwithstanding the early hour, there were then many visitors at the 
burial grounds, mostly strangers, who diverted themselves by strolling 
through this and adjoining cemeteries, preparatory to the arrival of the 
funeral cortege. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon Captain Charles Adams, in 
command of thirty men, fully equipped, reached the cemetery in two fur- 
niture vans and took positions assigned to them in keeping in check the 
constantly increasing crowds. 





Francis T. Nichols, 
Gov. of La. 




Francis P. Fleming, 
Gov. of Fla. 




THE GOVERNORS WHO ATTENDED THE FUNERAL. 
From recent photographs. 




Daniel G. Powle, 
Gov. of N. C. 



S. B Buckiier, 
Gov. of Ky. 




J. P. Richardson, 
Gov. of S. C. 



John B. Gordon, 
Gov. of Ga. 



THE GOVERNORS WHO ATTENDED THE FUNEKAL. 
From recent photographs. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 557 

" The arrival of the Lake trains which reached the ground about 3:30 o'clock 
emptied into the cemetery their load of human freight, who pushed on 
decorously and becomingly to the scene of the approaching ceremonies, 

"The richly attired lady and poorly clad woman, the cultured gentleman 
and the son of toil, fraternized together as though there were no such thing 
as socialties— all actuated by the same impulse, the desire to pay final homage 
to the cherished defender of the Confederacy. 

" Every available point of vantage, every nook from which the ceremo- 
nies could be seen with unbroken view, was soon seized by the populace 
encircling the tomb at a distance of one hundred yards. 

" At 3:30 o'clock the choristers, some thirty in number, arrived on the 
grounds and took a position on the left of the monument, near the spot 
selected for the press. 

" Shortly after their arrival the funeral procession advanced down the 
main isle of the cemetery, followed by the military escort. 

" The various commands entered on the south side and formed in several 
circles around the monuments which they faced. 

"A mournful funeral dirge heralded the near approach of the funeral car. 
which was preceded by Bishops Galleher and Thompson and the clergy ot 
the different attendant denominations in carriages. 

"The clergy alighting, aligned themselves in single column in the aisle 
leading to the monument and immediately in front of a richly-covered bier 
placed there to receive the casket. 

" The catafalque bearing the casket then entered the aisle encircling the 
monument at the west end, and passing through the cordon of troops, who 
were brought about face and ordered to present arms, proceeded to the beat 
of muffled drum to the aisle leading to the monuments 

" The pall-bearers, following, took positions beside the clergy, of whom 
Bishops Galleher and Thompson had mounted the mound and stood on 
either side of the bier, 

"The casket was then carefully taken up by a detachment of eight men 
from Battery B, Louisiana Field Artillery, who, preceded by Captain Bean- 
ham, slowly and solemnly marched up the aisle and deposited their precious 
burden upon the receptacle provided for it. The men formed in line beside 
the bier. 

"Mrs. Jeflferson Davis, attired in deep mourning and closely veiled, accom- 
panied by Mr. Jacob U. Payne and Mrs. Hayes, daughter of Jefferson Davis, 
similarly dressed, in company with General Gordon, walked up the mound, 
the ladies taking seats on the mound at the head of the bier. The Tenner 
family and other lady friends in deep mourning joined in the procession. 

" The scene at this juncture was a solemn and impressive one, and will 
live enduringly in the minds of those who witnessed it. The east and west 
points of the monument were thronged with a vast concourse of citizens, 



538 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

reaching back some distance, in whose upturned faces was betrayed the 
eager and respectful attention which was subsequently given to the funeral 
rites. 

" The ardent rays of the sun, at this time not a little uncomfortable 
though softened by a cool southern breeze, were endured uncomplainingly 
by the mass of humanity packed together with suffocating density. The 
shimmer of the soldiery in gay uniforms gave color to the picture, in the 
background of which hundreds of carriages were standing or moving to 
some eligible place. 

" Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, of Mississippi, standing at the head of 
the casket, read this portion of the office for the dead : 

" ' Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live and is full of 
misery.' 

" The choir then chanted: ' I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, 
'Write: From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord : Even 
so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labors.' 

" The Lord's prayer was then recited by those present. 

" Bishop Galleher, standing, said : ' In the name of God, Amen. We 
here consign to the ground the mortal body of Jefferson Davis, a servant of 
his State and country, and a soldier in their armies ; sometime member of 
Congress and Senator from Mississippi, and Secretary of War of the United 
States : the first and only President of the Confederate States of America. 
Born in Kentucky, on June 3, 1808, he died on December 6, 1889, in the 
State of Louisiana, and is buried here by the reverent hands of his people.' 

" Bishop Thompson then said the prayer. 

" At the conclusion of the prayer the choir and people sang : ' Rock of 
Ages cleft for me.' 

" The services closed with the bestowal of the benediction by Bishop 
Thompson : 

" 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellow- 
ship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.' 

" The casket was then again taken up by the Ivouisiana Field Artillery and 
conveyed to the receiving vault at the other end of the tomb, where all that 
was mortal of the ex-President of the Confederacy was placed at rest. The 
funeral ceremonies, though simple, were brought to an appropriate conclu- 
sion, after military methods, by the call of the bugle and the firing of three 
guns. 

" Owing to the feebleness of Mr. Payne, Mr. Frederick A. Ober, first vice- 
president of the Army of Northern Virginia, in behalf of President Frederick 
Washington, one of the pall-bearers, took Mrs. Jefferson Davis down into 
the vault. She was followed by Mrs. Hays and the members of the Fenner 
family, as also by a delegation of the ladies of the Confedei'ate Home Associ- 
ation. Mrs. Davis was conveyed back to her carriage by Mr. Ober. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 559 



THE PALL-BEARERS. 

"President Clark, of the City Council, at 11:30 o'clock called the pall- 
bearers into the clerk's office and presented each, as an insignia of his 
official position, with a broad black sash reaching around the shoulder and 
falling amost to the ground, and a pair of black gloves. 

HONORARY PALL-BEARERS. 

" Gov. Francis T. Nicholls, of Louisiana ; Gov. Robert Lowry, of Missis- 
sippi ; Gov. S. B. Buckner, of Kentucky ; Gov. John B. Gordon, of Georgia ; 
Gov. J. P. Richardson, South Carolina ; Gov. D. G.Fowle, of North Carolina; 
Gov. F. P. Fleming, of Florida ; Gov. James P. Eagle, of Arkansas. 

" These gentlemen represent the Southern States. 

PALL-BEARERS. 

Gen. George W. Jones, of Iowa ; Hon. Charles E. Fenner, of Louisiana ; Mr. 
Sawyer Hay ward, of Mississippi; Hon. Thomas H. Watts, of Alabama, 
(a member of President Davis's Cabinet) ; Commodore W. W. Hunter, of 
Louisiana ; Gen. Thos. F. Drayton, of North Carolina; Gen. Jubal A. Early, 
of Virginia ;Gen. Albert G. Blanchard, of Louii^iana ; Gen. Stephen D. Lee, 
of Mississippi ; Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox, of Alabama ; Gen. J. T.Holtzclaw, 
of Montgomery, Ala; Gen. T. T. Munford, of Virginia; Col. F. R. Lubbock, 
ex-Governor of Texas ; Gen. Samuel W. Fergerson, of Mississippi ; Rev. Dr. B. 
M. Palmer, of New Orleans ; Capt. Robert E. Park, of Macon, Ga. ; Hon. 
Ethel Barksdale, of Mississippi ; Gen. A. E. O'Neil, ex-Governor Alabama ; 
Col. J. Stoddard Johnston, of Frankfort, Ky. ; Capt. Jack White, of Hous- 
ton, Tex. ; Rev. Dr. J. Wm. Jones, of Atlanta, Ga. ; Hon. James McConnell, 
of New Orleans ; Col. Henry J. Leovy, of New Orleans ; Col. Thomas L, 
Bayne, of New Orleans ; Dr. Joseph Jones, of New Orleans ; S.H. Kennedy, 
Esq., of New Orleans ; Capt. Thomas P. Leathers, of New Orleans ; Ex- 
United States Senator B. F. Jonas, of New Orleans; James S. Richardson, 
Esq., of New Orleans; Col. D. M. Hollingsworth, of New Orleans; E. B. 
Kruttschnitt, Esq., nephew of the late Judah P. Benjamin, of New Orleans ; 
Gen. William Miller Owen, of New Orleans ; Col. Wright Schaumberg, of 
New Orleans ; Major H. J. Hearsey, of New Orleans ; Major Thomas E. 
Davis, of New Orleans ; ]Mr. Page M. Baker, of New Orleans ; Mr. John W. 
Fairfax, of New Orleans ; Gen. A. S. Badger, deputy collector of the port; 
Capt. Jacob Grey, commander Department of the Gulf, Grand Army of the 
Republic; Col. A. J. Lewis, Army of Tennessee, New Orleans; Col. F. S. 
AVashington, Army of Northern Virginia, New Orleans ; Col. John B. Rich- 
ardson, Washington Artillery, New Orleans ; ]\Iajor D. A. Given, Confed- 



560 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

erate Cavalry, New Orleans ; Capt. J. A. Chalaron, United Veterans, New 
Orleans; Hon. J. Numa Augustin, Sons and Daughters of Veterans, New 
Orleans ; Hon. James G. Clark, president of the City Council, New Orleans ; 
Col. William Preston Johnston, president of Tulane University, New 
Orleans ; Gen. AV.L. Cabell, of Texas ; Major W. H. Morgan, of Mississippi ; 
Gen. P. B. M. Young, of Georgia; Col. John C. Haskell, of South Carolina; 
Col. John Overton, of Tennessee. 

SOME OF THE NOTABLE MEN WHO WERE IN THE PROCESSION. 

" Hon. D. G. Fowle, Governor of North Carolina, and escort of honor, 
comprising Col. W. H. Williams, Col. John Cantwell, Major E. G. Harrell, 
Capt. William Grimes, Capt. W. T. Hallowell, Lieutenant T. H. Bain, Lieu- 
tenant J. R. Griffin, Sergeant W, T. Harrison, Sergeant Thompson and W. 
T. Dortch, Jr., rodein carriages in the line. The Governor was accompa- 
nied by his daughter, Miss Helen Fowle. The escort bore the flag of the 
First Regiment of the State Militia, and the company flag of the Goldsboro 
Rifles, of the Twenty-seventh Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers, in 
the Confederate service. This flag was captured near the close of the war 
by the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment and formed one of the 
trophies of the war which hung in the State House in Boston until four 
years ago, when it was returned, accompanied by a handsome stand of 
national colors and a hearty recognition of fraternity and good will. The 
escort made a very admirable appearance, 'heir uniforms being rich in gray 
and gold, and their bearing essentially military. 

"Among the notable men present yesterday, acting in the capacity of 
pall-bearer, was the life-long friend, and for many years the associate of 
Jefi'erson Davis in the United States Army, Gen. Thos. Drayton, of Char- 
lotte, N. C. Gen. Drayton was in the same class with Mr. Davis at West 
Point, and yesterday related a number of anecdotes illustrative of the char- 
acter of the man. He remembers a fact, which is not generally knwn, that 
Mr. Davis, during his stay at West Point, fell over a precipice and was 
caught in the branches of a tree growing from a cliff forty feet below the 
brow of the hill. Had it not been for this obstruction, he would have 
fallen the full distance of 150 feet and been killed instantly. 

" Gen. Drayton was a gallant soldier from South Carolina, but for many 
years has resided in North Carolina. He is the only surviving member of 
the West Point class of 1828. 

" Registered at the Continental Armory : The following visitors registered 
yesterday at the Continental Guards' Armorj^ : Brig.-Gen. J. Q. Burbridge, 
Third Brigade [Florida Militia, Jacksonville, Fla.; Capt. T.P.Richardson. 
Gen. J. B. Gordon, United Confederate Veterans, Atlanta, Ga.; Lieut.-Col. 
James P. Eagle, Reynolds' Consolidated Brigade ; Thomas W. Newton, of 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 561 

Marmaduke's staff, Arkansas; John R. M. 0. Reily, Cowan's Battery, Vicks- 
bur;^, Miss.; Lieut. W. P. Burks, Major V. M. Elmore, First Alabama Cavalry, 
Montgomery, Ala.; J. H. Higgins, Waddell's Battery, Montgomery, Ala/, C. 
Humphries, Darden's Battery, Copiah county, Mississippi ; Col. T. B. Gra- 
ham, Twentieth Mississippi Regiment, Scott county. Miss.; W. H. Gardner, 
Company G, Forty-sixth Mississippi Regiment, Scott county. Miss.; Col. C. 
L. Sayre, Adjutant-General, C. S. A., Montgomery, Ala.; Capt. R. B. Landry, 
Donaldsonville Artillery, Donaldsonville ; Brig.-Gen. S. W. Fergusen, Con- 
federate States Cavalry, Greenville, Miss.; S. B. Buckner, C. S. A., Hart 
county, Ky.; Brig.-Gen. Robert Lowry, C. S. A., Governor of Mississippi ; 
Berkeley Green, Eighteenth ]\iississippi Regiment, Vicksburg, Miss.; J. 
Stoddard Johnston, chief of staff to Gen. J. C. Breckinridge; Private H Lea- 
vitt. Thirty-sixth Mississippi Regiment, MacComb City, ]Miss.; W. L. Hutch- 
ins, Company A, Louisiana Cavalry; Paul C. Wyeth, staff correspondent 
Vicksburg Sunday Democrat; C. Devery ; J. J. O'Neil, Confederate Guards 
Response Battalion, Meridian, Miss.; E. Simonin, Fifty-sixth Alabama, New 
Orleans; George A. McDonell, M. D., surgeon Austin's Battalion Sharpshoot- 
ers; Mark R. Marshall, First Tennessee Artillery, Bunkie, La.; James C. 
Tappon, H. G. Bunn, M. F. Locke, W. S. Dunlap, Thomas W. Hewton, C. D. 
Mixon, John T. Ginnochio, Arkansa; Col. W. L. Dolz, Fourteenth Mississ- 
ippi Regiment, Jackson, Miss.; D. W. Frisby, Company A, Fourth Louisiana 
Battalion; J. V. Norten, Company E, Twenty -second Louisiana Battalion; 
J. W. Swann, Company D, Dallas Artiller}^ Fourth Texas Battalion, Dallas, 
Tex.; M. Gormes, Jr., John Valandingham, Vicksburg, Miss.; M. T. Baxter, 
Twentieth Regiment, Mississippi Volunteers ; John V. Toulme, Third Mis- 
sissippi Volunters, Bay, St. Louis, Miss.; John T. Reiley, Sixteenth INIissis- 
sippi Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia; Geo. Roden, Company H, First 
Mississippi Cavalry; A.W.Levy, Louisiana Guard Artillery; Capt. B. M. 
Milton, Company E, Sixth Mississippi Battalion; 0. P. Smith, Second Louis- 
iana Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia ; John J. Wax, Company E, First 
Louisiana Volunteers; W. W. Garig, Eleventh Louisiana Infantry; II. J. 
Gachet, Forty-fifth Alabama Infantry; William H. Stroube, Fifth Louis- 
iana Volunteers, Army of Northern Virginia; James A. Ramsey, Twenty- 
seventh Louisiana Volunteers, Army of Tennessee; Thos. Wax, Hubert 
Wax, Sons' and Daughters' Association, Army Northern Virginia; C 
iMcGregor, Fourth Company Washington Artillery; John Hassenger, Com- 
pany H, Forty-eighth Mississippi Regiment; AV, W. Bennett, Company 
I, Sixth Mississippi Regiment; Joseph D. Carter and H. H. Cabaniss, 
Georgia Confederate Veteran Association; T. B. Neal, Forrest's Cavalry, 
Atlanta, Ga.; M. A. Harden, Morgan's command, Atlanta, Ga.; E. P. 
Black, Fourth Georgia Regiment, Atlanta, Ga.; Wm. A. Wright, Wright's 
Brigade, Atlanta, Ga.; L. M. Park, First Georgia Reserves, Atlanta, Ga.; 
Major Jas. W. A. Wright, Thirty-sixth Alabama Infantry, Livingston, Ala.; 

36 



562 2 HE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

R. J. Turner, assistant-surgeon Thirty-second and Forty-eighth Alabama 
Regiments; Thos. J. Butler, Second Georgia Cavalry. 

" The delegation representing the Confederate Association of Kentucky 
"was headed by Gov. Buckner, and was composed of Gen. Alpheus Baker, 
Col. Bennett H. Young, Col. J. Stoddart Johnston, a nephew of Albert Sid- 
ney Johnston ; Col. Dick Wintersmith, Col. J. Cabell Breckinridge, son of 
Gen. John C. Breckinridge ; Col. Reginald H. Thompson, Major Clinton 
McCarty, Capt. Randolph H. Blain, Capt. John H. Leathers, Sergeant-]\Iajor 
John W.Green and Messrs. E. Polk Johnson, Harry AVeissinger, James S. 
Carpenter, Andrew Broadus, John A. Armstrong, Kinney Smith, Thomas P. 
Sattenwhite, H. P. McDonald, Allen Leathers, T. D. Osborne, of the Louis- 
ville Courier-Journal, Rev. J. P Minnegerode. 

" Gen. Basil Duke was to have been here, but was unavoidably detained. 
Rev. Mr. ]\Iinnegerode is the son of the reverend rector of the Episcopal 
Church of Richmond, of which Mr. Davis was a member and was in 
the church when, on the historic Sunday, Mr. Davis was called out 
and given General Lee's dispatch announcing the inevitable evacuation of 
Richmond. Afterward Mr. Minnegerode was one of the guard of the Con- 
federate treasure, and at Danville was overtaken by the ambulance in 
which the President's family rode, and at Mrs. Davis's invitation he mad e 
one of the party. The elder Rev. Mr. ]\Iinncgerode is still living, though 
very aged and too feeble to undertake the journey to atterpl the obsequies 
of his former parishioner and cordial friend. 

" The Louisville people came on a special sleeper, which served them for 
quarters while here, and will leave for home at 5 o'clock this afternoon by 
the Louisville and Nashville. 

" Among the very large number of Georgians who came on especially to 
take part in the funeral the city of Atlanta was numerously and influentially 
represented. Col. W. W. Hulbert, superintendent of the Southern Express 
Company ; Capt. E. B. Black, general agent of the State Railroad of Georgia ; 
Gen. W. A. Wright, Comptroller of the State; M. A. Hardin, clerk of the 
House of Representatives ; Rev. Dr. J. William Jones, a prominent Baptist 
clergyman and noted as a devoted chtiplain during the war; Gen. P. M. B. 
Young, and Messrs. J. A. Gramling, H. H. Cabiniss, T. B. Neal, and James 
D. Carter were delegates from the Fulton County Confederate Association. 

" The State at large was represented by Gov. Gordon, J. Carroll Payne, T. 
A. Hammond, L. M. Park, R. E. Park, Thomas Eggleston, W. E. Austin, L. B. 
Folsom, T. A. Robinson, of Tallula Falls, Col., Charles Handy, John S. King, 
of Rome, and J. B. McCrary. The press was represented by INIessrs. E. C. 
Bruffy, of the Atlanta Constitution, and J. G. Taylor, business manager of the 
Rome Tribune. 

" The capital of the Confederacy sent a snxill but distinguished delegation, 
consisiing of Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson, mayor of the city ; Gen. C. J. Ander- 
son, Mr. George A. Smith, St. George Bryan and J. Peter Williams, repre- 



SIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 563 

Benting the Richmond Howitzer Association, which is the '"Washington 
Artillery' of that city. Mr. Saiith is a fine-looking, one-armed Confederate 
veteran. He was a member of President Davis's body-guard and speaks in 
most affectionate terms of his old leader. 

" The following delegates, representing Frank Cheatham Bivouac No. 1, of 
Confederate Veterans, from Nashville, were present; John W. Childress, 
Isaac Litten, P. INI. GrifBn, S. A. Cunningham, C. C. Cantrell, W. L. Clarke, 
and W. S. Sawrie. 

"The following appointees of Governor Taylor w^ere present : Capt. J. T. 
Shipp, of Chattanooga; Frank A. Moses, of Ivnoxville; J. W. Gaines and 
E. A. Price, of Nashville. Other Tennesseeans present : Tomlinson Fort, H. 
C.Jackson, L. D. Colyar, and Mr. Slaughter, of Chattanooga; E. W. Cor- 
mack, editor of the Nashville ^Imerirau; D. M. Smith, Col. John Overton 
and wife, of Nashville; W. A. Collier and Rev. Mr. Burford, of Memphis. 

" The Cheatham Bivouac sent an elegant floral design, which was placed 
in the City Hall with other floral tributes. No two persons in Tennessee 
did more for the Confederate cause than Col. Overton and his wife. Pos- 
sessed at that time of a large fortune, they contributed of its profusely, and 
Mrs. Overton devoted her whole time in nursing, caring, and providing for 
the soldiers. After the war she would not rest till she had raised the money 
and had erected the beautiful monument at Nashville which was unveiled 
in May last. 

"Mr. R. M. Johnston, managing editor of the Houston Font and president 
of the Texas Press Association, participated in the ceremonies. Mr. John- 
ston has many friends here who were pleased to meet him again. Beside 
^Ir. Johnston, Houston was represented by Dr. George McDow'ell, Col. R. 
Cocke, and Capt. Jack White. 

"Alabama bore a conspicuous part in the grand and solemn pageant. 
Conspicuous among her representatives was the great war Governor of the 
State, Thomas H. "Watts, and the only ex-Cabinet officer of the Confederacy 
present. While commanding the Seventeenth Alabama Regiment at Corinth 
he received the appointment from Mr. Davis of Attornev-General, and 
remained in that position until called by the people of his native State to 
tlie Governorship in 1863. He was one of the pall-bearers, and among the 
thousands taking part in the demonstration there was not one for whom Mr. 
Davis felt deeper affection nor one more loyal and devoted to the great chief. 

"Gen. J. T. Holtzdaw, who commanded one of the best brigades in the 
service, was another of Alabama's representatives honored with a place 
among the pall-bearers. 

" Col. W. L. Reese, ex-mayor of Montgomery, was one of the aids to the 
chief marshal. It was due largely to him that Mr. Davis consented to visit 
^Montgomery in xVpril, 1886, and assist in laying the corner-stone in the 
Capitol grounds of a monument to the honor and memory of the Confed- 
erate dead. On that monument, at the base, when completed, will be five 



564 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

figures, and one of these, full life size, will be of Mr. Davis. This is the only 
city in the South that has already made arrangements to thus honor in 
bronze the immortal chieftain. 

"Another historic character, representing Alabama by special appoint- 
ment of Governor Seay, was Gen. James H. Lane, who won undying fame 
as commander of a brigade of North Carolina troops, though he was fre- 
quently at the head of much larger forces. His name and fame and his 
brave command form a conspicuous part of the history of the Army of 
Northern Virginia. He is now the professor of civil engineering in the 
Alabama A. and M. College, situated at Auburn. 

"Alabama has every reason to be proud of the part borne by her soldiers- 
Her two regiments added greatly to the impressiveness of the occasion. 
One regiment, the First, of Mobile, was commanded by Lieut.-Col. Roper, 
Col. Price Williams, though present, not being well enough to assume com- 
mand. The Second Eegiment was in command of Col. Thomas G. Jones, 
of Montgomery, who was an officer of Gen. Gordon's stafi" during many of 
the perilous periods of that splendid officer's career. It was the only State 
sending two regiments. 

" Governor Seay was prevented by sickness from being present, but his 
entire staff was here and had assignment in the line. 

" The Montgomery Veterans' Association was composed as follows : Mayor 
E. A. Graham, Col. H.C.Tompkins, ex-Attorney-G6neral of the State; Major 
V. M. Elmore, Major W. W. Screws, Major C. L. Sayre, Major W. P. Burks, 
E. P. Morrissett, J. H. Higgins, Capt. James Jackson, and C. A. Lanier. 
Accompanying the delegation were Mrs. David Cloi^ton and Mrs. M. D. 
Bibb. The first named lady was formerly ]\Irs. C. C. Clay. She was a 
wife of a senator in the United States and Confederate Congresses, who 
for a while was confined with Mr. Davis at Fortress Monroe as a prisoner of 
w^ar. 

" Mrs. Bibb is president of the Ladies' IMemorial Association of Mont- 
gomery, which is building the monument on Capitol Hill, in that city, on 
which is to be the life size figure of jVIr. Davis. They bore from their asso- 
ciation the beautiful fioral tribute in the shape of a monument, composed of 
white flowers, which attracted such marked attention. 

" In addition there were hundreds of citizens from every portion of Ala- 
bama who came to take part in the demonstration. 

" Colonel William G. Vincent and Mr. A. H. May represented the State of 
Maryland on the authority of the following telegram : 

" Baltimore, December 9, 1889. 
" Judge A. B. Kelly, New Orleans : 

" Will you, William G. Vincent, A. H. INIay, Joseph Bowling, and H. B. 
Stevens represent the Maryland Confederate societies at the obsequies of 
Jefi'erson Davis, as it will be too late to attend ? 

" Bradley T. Johnson." 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 565 

" New Orleans, December, 10, 1889. 
" Gen. Bradley T. Johnson : 
" Judge Kelly sick. The rest of the committee will act as requested. 

"W.G.Vincent.' 

" Besides the four military companies over 1,000 citizens of the State of 
Mississippi and more than 200 ladies came to the city. Among the more 
prominent were : Gov. Lowry ; Hon. Thomas H. Woods, Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court ; Hon. T. M. |Miller, Attorney-General of the State ; Col. 
Hemmingway, State Treasurer ; Capt. W. W. Stone, State Auditor ; Major 
G. M. Govan, Secretary of State; Hon. J. E. Preston, State Superintendent 
of Education ; Major Sessions and Mr. Kyle, State Railroad Commissioners ; 
Hon. George W. Carlisle, Commissioner of Emigration ; Gen. Stephen D. 
Lee, president A. and M. College; Col. J. L. McCaskell, late United States 
consul at Dublin; Major Pat. Henry, Representative from Rankin county; 
Senator J. B. Boothe, of Sardis; Hon. William Barber and J. W. Persons, of 
Claiborne ; Oliver Clifton, clerk of the Supretne Court ; Col. R. H. Henry 
and Col.'Power,of the Clarion-Ledger ; Hon. Alfred Stubblefield, Col. Holden, 
Capt. Liddell, Senator Jones, of Wilkson county ; Major Hill, of Canton ; 
E.A.Thompson, of Aberdeen; E. T. Sykes, R. 0. [Reynold, Jr., Dr. J. M. 
Buchanan of Meridian, Dr. B. F. Ward, of Winona; Dr. T. J. Mitchell, of 
Jackson, superintendent of the State Insane Asylum ; Dr. Sanford, of Cor- 
inth ; Dr. Kittrell, of Black Hawk ; Col. Doss, superintendent of the .State 
Penitentiary at Jackson; Col, Morgan, of Mississippi City; Hon. M. M 
Evans, Lieutenat-Governor-elect ; J. J. Evans, of Aberdeen, State Treasurer- 
elect ; Dr. McSwine, of Grenada; Senator Bloomfield, of Scranton; Mr. 
McCormick, of Heidelberg; Capt. Floweree, of Vicksburg; Capt. P. K. 
Mayers, of Scranton ; Mr. Elmer, of Biloxi ; D. M. Watkins, of Columbia ; 
J. G. Bowers, of Bay, St. Louis ; Hon. Samuel Terrill ; District Attorney 
Neville, of De Kalb ; Judge T. B. Graham, of Forrest ; Mayor Pelham, of 
Pascagoula, and Senator Roderick Seal, of Bay St. Louis. 

"Dr. J. M. Heard, Dr. 0. C. Brothers, Capt. S. M. Roane, Col. John Hen- 
derson, editor of the Forum, were the representatives of West Point. 

"JFrom Warren county there were two members of Jeiferson Davis's. 
First Mississippi Rifles, J. A. Herold and William Walker; the remnant of 
the regimental colors of the Ninth Mississippi Regiment, borne by its color 
bearer, Robert Paxton, who lost his right arm at the battle of Shiloh. He 
was a member of the Vicksburg Cadets, the first company that left for Pen- 
sacola, which was termed the " Boy Company," its eldest member being 
under twenty-one years of age. 

" Florida was represented by Gov. F. P. Fleming, accompanied by Hon. 
W. W. Chipley, State Senator C. B. Parkhill, Capt. George Slocumb, Capt. 
W. F. Lee, Mr. Boykin Jones, Mr. A. C. Blount, Jr., Mr. W. L. Wittich, 



666 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Judge Frank IMaura, of Pensacola, Fla. ; Gen. J. Q. Burbridge, Mr. Dexter 
Hunter, Mr. B. II. Hopkins, of Jacksonville, Fla. ; and Major D. Buddington, 
of Green Cove Springs, Fla. 

" The South Carolina delegation arrived in the city with the Georgia and 
North Carolina delegations, and after registering at the headquarters of the 
Armj' of Northern Virginia, secured quarters at the St. Charles Hotel. The 
delegation consists of Governor John Peter Richardson, Colonel Isaac Cr. 
]\IcKissick, Colonel John C. Haskell, Captain A. F. O'Brien, Captain R. R. 
Hemphill, Mr. Jere Smith and Mr. E. P. McKissick, of the News and Courier 
of Charleston. Both Colonel Haskell and Captain O'Brien are one-armed 
Confederate soldiers, and Colonel McKissick, who wears the badge of the 
A. N. v., presented to the late Captain F. W. Dawson, of the News and 
Courier, limps from the w^eight of minie balls. 

" The delegation was taken in charge yesterday by Colonel Joseph C. 
Haskell, a South Carolinian, and now a resident of Louisiana, and intro- 
duced to all the prominent people at the City Hall. 

" On behalf of the Ladies' Memorial Association of Columbia, Mr. 
McKissick,of the iVett's o/^(i Com nVr, presented a lovely sheaf of palmetto 
leaves, gathered by white and blue ribbon and crape, which was forwarded 
by the ladies by the delegation. It was an appropriate floral tribute from 
the devoted women of South Carolina. 

"Texas had present a very large delegation, among Avhom were noted R. 
M. Johnson, editor Houston Post, and President of the Texas Press Associ- 
ation, and Cai:>tain Jack "White, of Houston, General W. L. Cabell, (' Old 
Tige'), F. H. James, Messrs. Hevefood and Melton, and Dr. Houston and 
wife, of Dallas, Hon. Mr. Lightfoot and wife, of Paris, ex-Governor F. R. 
Lubbock, Captain John Orr, and Major Goree, of Austin, and many others 
from all over the State. 

" General W. L. Tappan, of Helena, and ex-postmaster Newton, of Little 
Rock, accompanied Governor Eagle, of Arkansas. 

THE FLORAL TRIBUTES. 

"The flowers of all varieties sent from every portion of the country to do 
reverence to ex-President Davis, were arriving Friday morning until the 
last moment before the funeral. Those who believed that every possibility 
in the way of floral tributes had been realized the evening before, were 
filled with astonishment when they saw the accessions the morning brought. 
The atmosphere seemed vibrant with a concord of exquisite perfumes, mak- 
ing the air rich with the fragrance of exotics, wild flowers, and pungent 
evergreens. Associations from a distance who trusted to having their ofier- 
ings made in the city, were necessarily delayed by the press upon the local 
florists, consequently many pieces failed to arrive until a late hour. Every 
State and city were represented by costly tributes of aflection woven in rare 
winter flowers. 




PROMINENT CONFEDERATE GENERALS WHO ATTENDED THE FUNERAL. 



W. L. Cabell. 
F. R, Lubbock. 
Stephen D. Lee. 



J. A. Early. 
Albert G. Blanc hard. 
Thos. F. Drayton 
Thos. T, Munfo: 



J is. H. Lane. 

T. Holtzclaw. 
• m. Miller Owen. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 667 

" t . iburg sent a great square pillow of scarlet geraniums with her name 
■ "tlinc J in violet immortelles upon a broad band of double white geraniums, 
ae whole fringed with smilax. 

'' The Misses Stringfellow, ' with loving sympathy to our beloved Presi- 
dent/' .-•^rt a rich pillow of violets and sheaf of wheat in a sickle of immor- 
telles. Also from Montgomery's Ladies' Confederate Memorial Association, 
Mrs. M. D. Bibb, president, came a large vase of hyacinths and rose buds, 
from which sprung a superb column of yellow and white jonquils banded 
with dark purple violets, the whole some four feet in height. Mrs. G. 
Devereux sent a l:)ig pillow of roses and ivy and Mrs. Culbertson, librarian 
at the City Hall, handsome plaque of rose buds. 

" Mobile was lavish in her offerings. The Lee Association of that city, of 
which Mr. Davis was an honorary member, sent a magnificent tribute, the 
design a vacant chair. Glorious camelias, white as snow, were mixed with 
fine mignonette, feathery ferns and Roman hyacinths to weave the tall back, 
with its white cross, the broad arms and royal crown above. This was one 
of the most splendid of the numerous handsome pieces in the Council Cham- 
ber. Later in the dav Miss Burns and Miss Colver, who broutrht the chair, 
pinned on a broad band of white silk with the words, ' To our honored Pres- 
ident,' and above a square of satin, on which was written : 

" And leaving in battle no blot on his name. 

Looks proudly to heaven from the deathbed of fame, 

Their tears for the mighty dead, their hopes for his resurrection. 

'"Florida's tribute' was outlined on a wide scarf thrown across a great 
pillow of lilies, violets, camelias, and roses, with the initials ' J. D.' in 
immortelles. A Confederate flag made into a superb square of delicate 
flowers, with 'Our President' traced below, was sent with loving sympathy 
from the Ladies' Confederate IMemorial Association of ]Memphis. 

" The Eichmond Howitzers, through two tried veterans, St. George Bryan 
and J. P. Williams, represented their gallant company with a magnificent 
shield of violet immortelles, having an arch of palm leaves above. On this 
dark purple background a tall, white lighthouse was raised, typifying the 
Constitution, and down the centre was written ' Jeflerson Davis, a guide and 
light for his people.' Below were two crossed cannon in the artillery colors, 
yellow and blue, with a crimson sabre and bayonet and a scarf having 
the word ' Fame ' outlined. The two widespread doors were the battle 
flag of the Confederacy and the regular Confederate flag in flowers. From 
the ladies of Beauvoir a tall cross of roses. Mrs. R. C. Wood a basket of 
jessamines and roses. Mr. and Mrs. John A. Morris a large harp, the strings 
of smilax and frame of costly flowers, surmounted by a dove with a scarf 
in its mouth. 

"The Girls' High School sent another large plaque of roses; Mrs. Felix 
Lemongi, a cross of flowers; ^Messrs. Sawyer and Sam. Haywood, an anchor 
of roses. 



568 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLVMR 

"The Louisiana Eifles sent a magnificent cross four feet high of elegant 
design, admirably put up ; the Goldsboro' Rifles, of North Carolina, a hand- 
some bouquet; the Ladies' Confederate Association, of Kentucky, a pyramid 
of rare flowers with a tall, exquisite column of roses six feet in height. 
The word 'Kentucky' was written in red rosebuds on the white back- 
ground. Mrs. IMorris McGraw, a column and cross with dove at the base. 

"From the Richland County (South Carolina) Fireman's Memorial Asso- 
ciation came a palmetto branch tied with crape and red and white ribbons. 
A palmetto was sent by Mrs. Henry Cheeves. 

" There were numberless other floral designs received yesterday morning 
with a line to say from whence they came : !Mr. Charles Eble, a beautiful 
tribute from the Continental Guards, a snow-white crown, with a star of 
roses and dove; the children of McDonogh No. 11 sent a large cross, and the 
Montgomery Greys an anchor of roses; a beautiful sword and shieli of 
white jessamine was anonymous; Typographical Union No. 17 sent a 
superb design in delicate natural flowers, a tall, finely-curved crescent, with 
the cross full five feet high, surmounted by a dove with outstretched wings." 

THE SALUTES. 

" When the procession started and the music of the many bands was play- 
ing funeral music, the tread of the soldiers, the roll of carriages was hushed 
at intervals by the regular boom of cannon, firing the last salutes appro- 
priate to the burial of a military hero. 

**-The salutes were fired by details from Battery B, Louisiana Field Artil- 
lery. 

"Detachment No. 1, stationed at Canal and Levee streets. Veteran Ser- 
geant Emile Moses commanding, was composed of Veteran C. H. Nobles, 
Active Sergeant J. W. Jay, Corporal C. F. Dufour, Corporal S. P. Kidwell, 
Privates J. J. Murray and Thomas Kceff'e. The detachment began firing at 
11-30 A. M. three-minute guns, and fired twenty rounds. 

" Gun detachment No. 2, at the corner of Canal and Claiborne streets, 
comprised Corporal P. P. Hanley, gunner; L. A. Livaudais, Jr., No. 1 ; F. R. 
Andrews, No. 2 ; J. L. Schallaire, No. 3 ; H. F. Lochte, Jr., No. 4 ; G. A. 
Henderson, No. 5. They fired from 1:30 P. ]\r. until 2 P. M. every five 
minutes, a;id then every ten minutes till 3:45 P. M." 

NOTES. 

" Capt. John Orr, of Austin, Tex., was among the veteran visitors who 
paraded yesterday. Capt. Orr was adjutant of the Sixth Louisiana during 
the war, and at one time was prominent in newspaper circles here. He is 
one of the few soldiers who received a bayonet wound during the war. It 
happened during the battle of "Winchester. The captain was attempting to 
capture the Union colors, which were being carried ofi" the field by a sol- 
dier, when a Federal infantryman charged and seriously wounded him with 
a bavonet. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 569 

"Among other veterans who showed their zeal and loyalty to the dead 
chieftain was the one-armed ex-Confederate, R. E. Paxton, of Vicksburg, 
Miss. He carried the colors of the Ninth Mississippi Regiment (the same 
as he bore during the war) in Tucker's Brigade, Hindman's Division, Hood's 
Corps, Army of Tennessee. 

"A mistake was made in failing to give the ladies of Dallas credit for the 
splendid floral Ship of State sent by them to honor the dead ex-President. 
It was a masterpiece in flowers, made entirely of Texas blossoms, woven by 
loving Texan fingers and brought to the bier of the chief by a distinguished 
delegation of veterans from the Lone Star State. The design was some 
five feet in length, with three tall masts and the rigging of delicate smilax 
vines. Confederate flags floated from the masts, and on one side was out- 
lined, 'We mourn our dead,' and on the other, 'The Lost Cause.' 

" Capt. Isaac D. Stamps, whose widow followed in the family cortege of 
Mr. Davis, was killed at Gettysburg in 1863. Owing to a battle-field order, 
his body could not be removed for some months afterward. 

"It was in December, 1863, jus twenty-six years ago, that his body was 
received in Richmond, was honored by military services conducted from 
Grace church, and thence conveyed by family and military escort to his last 
resting place in AVoodville, Miss. 

"Capt. Stamps was the son of Mr. Davis's elder sister, Mrs. Wm. Stamps, 
whose influence was so great in shaping the character of the great states- 
man. 

"Mr. Davis, moved by the helplessness of the young wife and two 
orphaned daughters, pledged himself to be a father to them, a pledge which 
he faithfully kept through tv/enty-six struggling years. 

"A very sad incident connected with the obsequies of Mr. Davis is the 
fact that Miss Jeannie Anderson, hisgrandniece, reached New Orleans too late 
yesterday morning to join the family in taking a last look at the face of Mr. 
Davis. Her mother was Miss Ellen Davis, a niece of ex-President Davis, 
who is now residing, for the benefit of her health, at Spring Hill, near 
Mobile. The news of his death caused [such a prostration to Mrs. Ander- 
son that the true-hearted little daughter did not know till the last minute 
of starting that she might come as a representative of her branch of the 
illustrious household. She came, however, in time to follow the honored 
bier of her uncle, and to weep with the multitude of sorrowing followers. 

"Among the many notable characters who came to pay their last tribute 
to the memorj' of Jefierson Davis was Capt. Jack White, of Houston, Tex. 

" Capt. White is now chief of police of Houston ; and a braver man never 
lived. He was a member of the Davis Guards during the war, which was 
composed of forty-two brave Irish hearts, in command of Capt. Dick Dow- 
ling. 

" The command was stationed at Sabine Pass, and did noble service in 
the cause they esi)OT''.^nd. 



570 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

" The lamented ex-President of the Confederacy, in his History of the 
War, refers to the many heroic deeds of this company, and especially their 
successful repulse of the Federal fleet at Sabine Pass. Their many valorous 
deeds and brave and unflinching feats have passed into history. 

"This small company of soldiers had received orders to evacuate the pass, 
as Federal vessels were approaching in large numbers. They refused to 
evacuate, and calmly awaited the approach of the enemy. When the fleet 
came up, the garrison made a gallant defense, and succeeded in capturing 
one gunboat and blowing up another, andmaking prisoners of one hundred 
and fifty-five men, besides killing fifty or sixty of the enemy. They suc- 
ceeded in repelling the Federal fleet, although it consisted of fifteen vessels. 

" The brave handful of men had only two old twenty-four pounders. 

" Only one man in the Davis Guards was injured, receiving a slight scratch 
under the arm from a piece of shell." 

The very full and admirable report of the Times-Democrat has left us 
neither space nor occasion to add anything. 

MASS MEETING OF THE UNITED CONFEDERATE VETERANS. 

A fitting close of the great day of the funeral was a mass meeting held at 
the hall of the Washington Artillery — the largest in the city — at 8 o'clock 
under the auspices of the " United Confederate Veterans" of which the gallant 
General John B. Gordon, of Georgia, is commander. 

It was thought that the opportunity for gathering together so large a num- 
ber of representative Confederates coming from all of the States, and repre- 
senting every army and every arm of the Confederate service should not 
be neglected; and although the call was issued too late for it to be seen by 
all, and many were broken down by the fatigues of the day, there assembled 
one of the largest representative meetings of Confederates held since the war. 

It was one of the most, enthusiastic meetings we have ever attended, and 
all went away counting it a privilege to have been there. 

At 8 o'clock President Fred. Washington, of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, called the meeting to order and briefly etated its object, speaking as 
follows : 

" Companions and soldiers of the Confederacy. — You are called to attend 
this evening a special meeting under the name of Confederate Veterans, 
and I will now present to you the general commanding, Gen. John B. Gor- 
don, of Georgia." 

At the mention of Gen. Gordon's name the applause was deafening, and 
as the battle-scarred veteran took his seat on the rostrum, he was greeted 
with cheers long and loud. 

Gen. Gordon spoke, in substance, as foilcn's ; 
"Brother Soldiers: 

"My sensibilities are deeply -stirred by this greeting 
from old comrades, many ot whom. I now me ': fc the first time since our 
flag went doM"n in defeat. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 571 

'• Without any time for preparation, or one moment's consecutive thought, 
you must allow me to speak as the spirit of the occasion may prompt, 

"To mc this is one of the saddest and yetswcetest and proudest occasions 
of all my life. Saddest, because we have carried to his last resting place the 
great chieftain whom we loved, followed, and honored. Sweetest, because 
we have laid him to rest after life's fitful fever' with all the honors we 
could bestow, embalmed in the esteem and boundless affections of great and 
grateful people. Proudest, because it was my fortune to participate in giving 
to that grand man, dead as he was, the tribute of my respect and love; and 
now the privilege of taking j^ou all to my heart and saying as he would 
have said with the last lisp of his tongue, God bless you, my fellow-suf- 
ferers 

' It was my fortune to know Mr. Davis well, although, as stated on another 
occasion, I saw him but twice in that eventful period from 1861 to the 
autumn of 1SG5. I saw him on the battle-field of Manassas, as he rode in 
triumph, with the stars and bars of the Confederacy floating in the white 
smoke of battle, and with the shouts of his victorious legions ringing in his 
ears. 

" The next time I saw him was in prison at Fortress Monroe. It is no 
exaggeration to say that ho rose to grander height as prisoner of State, as 
self-poised and unbending he bore his misfortunes and wore his shackles for 
all his people. I have followed his course and marked his career from that 
hour to this Vv'ith an unfaltering faith that he would neither lower this high 
standard nor betray the holy trust which he carried in his person. I never 
doubted for one moment how he would live or how he would die, and I 
have not been disappointed. 

" To us, whatever it may be to mankind, it is a glorious heritage that this 
Southland has produced so grand a vicarious sufferer. Here is a man upon 
whom the g?,::c of Christendom was concentrated, and upon whom criticism 
has expended all, its arrows, and yet no blemish is found in his jmvate 
character. 

"It was fitting that around his bier and his body, sacred to us, should have 
been wrapped the flag that went down with his fall from power. But it 
was also fitting that above Jiis dead body the stars and stripes of the repub- 
lic, for the hon#r and glory of which his blood was shed, should also have 
floated. 

" Could his cold lips speak his injunction Avoukl be to us be true to your 
Confederate mcmorlco ; bo true to the past, but be true to the future of the 
Union and the republic as well. 

" The flag of the republic, which is our flag in all the ages to come, was 
made dearer because Jefferson Davis fought in its defense. It is a glorious 
thought to me, as doubtless to you, that there is not a star upon its blue 
field that has not been made briglitor bv Southern courage and Southern 



672 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

patriotism. That there is not one of its red stripes that is not made deeper 
and richer by. Southern blood. That there is not one of its white lines that 
has not been made purer, whiter and holier by Southern character in all 
public offices. 

" Now, my countrymen, I come to the debt we owe the living. Mr. Davis 
is dead. The grief is ours full and sacred. His fame belongs not only to 
the South but to his country and to Christendom. Ours it is to cherish. 
Ours the still higher privilege of taking care of that memory by taking care 
of those who were impoverished in our cause. I have been told since I 
came to New Orleans that his widow, following his illustrious example, 
declines to accept sucli tributes as we may choose to ofier. 

" My brothers, the reply I make is, that we did not ask the consent of 
Jefferson Davis, or of his family, when we put the burden upon him that led to 
the shackles for our sakes, nor will we consult any one now, when we choose 
to pay the tribute due to him and to his children, out of our pockets. If it 
be thought best to pay it in a particular channel, all right, but calling God 
to witness the purity of motive and consecration which we feel in this 
duty, we intend, because of our love for him as our representative ; because 
of our love for those who have shared his fate ; because of our love for our 
own honor, we intend to see to it that his wife and children do not suffer 
want. 

"The outside world may not appreciate it, but, so far as you and I are 
concerned, we feel that not one dollar of property is ours so long as his wife 
and his children need our assistance. This we intend to render ; because 
Southern manhood demands it as a tribute to the man who suffered for iis. 
I shall not insulj you by asking you if you are ready. 

" Governor Gordon announced the following vice-presidents : General S. 
D. Lee, of Mississippi ; Governor S. B. Buckner, of Kentucky; Governor 
Robert M. Lowry, of Mississippi; ex-Governor T. H. AVatts, of Alabama; 
General C. M. Wilcox, of Alabama ; General W. L. Cabell, of Texas ; Gen- 
eral Jubal Early, of Virginia ; General Francis T. Nicholls, of Louisiana ; 
General P. M. B. Young, of Georgia; Governor Eagle, of Arkansas; Gover- 
nor Fleming, of Florida: ex-Governor Lubbock, of Texas; Governor Fowle, 
of North Carolina ; General Ferguson ; General Munford, of Virginia ; Com- 
modore Hunter, of Louisiana; Hon. J. T. Ellyson, mayor o^Kichmond, Va." 

Lieutenant-General S. D. Lee, of Mississippi, presented the following 
resolutions: 

" Having come from the tomb where we have deposited the cold clay of 
our grand old chief, where, for a time, Stonewall Jackson stands sentinel 
over his old commander, we, the united Confederates, deem it proper to put 
on record some expression of our feelings ; therefore 

"Jiesolved, 1. That we mourn the death of our leader as children for a 
father, and desire to say that we loved him living and revere him dead as 



. mS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 573 

one of the bravest soldiers, ablest statesmen, most peerless orators, truest 
patiiot and most stainless Christian gentleman that the world ever saw. 

"2. That, leaving the question of the final resting place entirely to the 
widow and daughters, where it properly belongs, and not venturing even to 
make a suggestion on the subject, we hereby pledge ourselves that, whatever 
may be the place decided on. we will see to it that the grave is properly 
decorated and that there shall be reared a suitable monument to perpetuate 
the name and fame of the President of the Confederacy. 

"3. That we tender to Mrs. Davis and her daughters our profound sympa- 
thies in this great bereavement; and, while we rejoice that she and her 
daughters are true to the principles of her noble husband, who always 
refused gratuities, yet we are glad of the opportunity of contributing to a 
scheme which shall relieve the estate and leave them in comfort, and we 
urge prompt action on the part of comrades everywhere. 

"In offering the resolutions, General Lee spoke as follows : 
" Comrade President : 

" I do not deem it necessary to make any extended remarks in intro- 
ducing these resolutions. The spontaneous uprising of the people in every 
city, town, and hamlet in our Southland to-day, to do honor to the memory of 
our cherished and beloved ex-President, speaks louder than anything I can 
say. The grand pageant we have witnessed in this city, where hundreds of 
thousands of our people, representing every State in the South, demon- 
strating such genuine sorrow, love, and affection, shows beyond doubt the 
fact, that Jefferson Davis was the true exponent of Southern feeling and 
thought. 

" On this sad occasion, every true Confederate feeis, that whatever of 
so-called or imputed odium may have attached to you, or me, or any of us, 
for participation in the four years' war against the Federal Government ; that 
our beloved chieftain bore it all for us. Every shaft fell on his devoted and 
defenseless head, and nobly did he suffer for us all. 

" I echo, comrade President, your statement, that w.e all owe true and 
loyal allegiance to the flag of our common country, and if need be, we would 
fight under its folds as bravely, as for four years, we fought under the flag of 
the Confederacy. Yet on this memorable occasion, filled with such supreme 
sadness, there is a feeling of satisfaction in my heart, and I know it finds a 
response in the heart of every brave Confederate, that we have been able to 
show to the world to-day, here and everywhere in the South, that while as 
true and good citizens, we have fully accepted the results of the war, we 
have never, for one moment, laid down our self-respect or genuine Southern 
manhood ; that now is the appropriate time for ex-Confederate soldiers, to 
place on record their estimate of our grand leader, and to take the neces- 
sary steps to care for those he loved, who now are doubly dear to us ; also 
to see that a suitable monument be placed over the final resting place of the 
President of the Confederate States. 



574 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL V0LU3fE. 

"I recommend the passage of these resolutions." 

Gen. Lee — of whom, by the way, Mr. Davis was accustomed to say, "Lee 
was one of the best soldiers I ever knew ; I tried him in artillery, in cavalry, 
and in infantry, and I found him equally good in each of these arms of the 
service " — was greeted with loud applause, and was frequently applauded 
during his speech." 

GEN. W. L. CABELL, OF TEXAS. 

Major-General W. L. Cabell, of Dallas, Texas— "Old Tige," as he was 
affectionately called in the army — was the next speaker, and was warmly 
received and generously applauded. He said : 

"Mr. President, My Old Comrade^, and Friends: 

" "When I came here to meet my old Confederate friends I did not 
know what we met for, unless it was to meet each other and to hold a regu- 
lar Confederate love-feast— a reunion of old and tried veterans of the Lost 
Cause, who came here with bowed heads to pay the last sad tribute of 
respect, love, and affection to their grand old chief, Jefferson Davis. But 
after hearing the able and soldierly speech of General John B. Gordon, the 
commander of the Confederate Veterans, and the resolutions presented by 
my old friend and comrade, Gen. S. D. Lee, I know that this meeting of 
brave old Confederates was called for the purpose of devising ' ways and 
means' of looking after the welfare of the wife and children of our grand 
old chieftain whose body we laid in the tomb to-day. Let me say to you, 
Mr. President, and to you, old Confederate soldiers, from every Southern 
State, that Texas will respond nobly and will do her part in doing honor to 
this glorious soldier — this glorious old statesman and the grandest man on 
the American continent. I am one of a committee of Confederate veterans 
from Texas who came with heads bowed down and with hearts full of sor- 
row to be i^resent and to assist at the burial of the grandest man ever known 
in this country ; to place, as a tribute of love and affection from the ladies of 
Dallas, a magnificent floral offering on his cotfin — a beautiful ' flower ship ' 
named the Lost Caifsc, made of Texas flowers by Texas women, the wives and 
daughters of Confederate soldiers. The Confederate flag was flying from 
every mast ; the sails all wet, not from the spray of the stormy waves of the 
angry sea, but wet with tears of sorrow, love, and affection, shed by the 
broken-hearted wives and daughters of the great State of Texas. I am here 
also the representative of ' Camp Sterling Price ' of ex-Confederate Veterans 
in the city of Dallas; also the 'Association of ex-Confederate Arkansas 
Veterans ' living in Texas ; also to represent the city and county of Dallas 
and the great West and Northwest Texas— to express their great sorrow and 
to eay that when the proper time comes all would do their duty. Horace 
exclaimed before dying, 'Exegi monumenium seri percnnius ' — ' I have reared 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. ^5 

a monument more lasting than brass ' — that neither the cold North winds or 
storms can ever efface. Yes, my old comrades, our grand old chief could 
have exclaimed in his dying moments, ' I have erected a monument in the 
liearts and affections of the Southern jieople more lasting than either brass 
or stone ; that neither the cold and chilly winds of oppression nor the 
storms of passion, prejudice, or hate can ever efface.' Yes, his memory is 
enshrined in the hearts of a brave and a loving people. His heroism and 
the heroic deeds of the old Confederate soldier— the ' unpaid soldiery of 
immortal principle' whom we loved so well — will live forever. Poets and 
orators will never suffer this glorious theme to die as long as the fair women 
and brave men in our Southland loves and appreciates valor. Aye, the 
name of Jefferson Davis, and the fact that he was the President, and the only 
President, of the Southern Confederacy will be taught to the children in our 
Southland homes, and his name and fame will go 'sounding down the halls 
of time' thousands of years after his maligners and traducers have been 
forgotten, and until the 'Great Arch Angel,' with his golden trumpet, shall 
sound the last revielle. 

"I therefore, Mr. President, heartily endorse these resolutions, and, in 
behalf of the committees present from every part of the State of Texas, I 
will pledge the State of Texas to do her part. For myself, I will state that 
I am willing to contribute every dollar I can spare, and will, if necessary, 
give up my time to make the contemplated monument a great success. 
Texas will do her duty. ' There is life in the old land yet.' 

"I thank j'ou, my old comrades, for your kind attention." 

GOVERNOR LOWRY, OF MISSISSIPPI. 

The "Soldier-Governor" of Mississippi was next called out, was cordially 
greeted, and spoke as follows: 

" I was not aware until an hour ago that there would be a meeting here 
this evening, but when informed that Confederate veterans were to assem- 
ble, I felt that my place was with them. 

"And if there had been no other reason, when it was stated that Georgia's 
distinguished soldier-statesman would address the assembled sorrowing 
veterans who came to pay the last sad rites to then- beloved leader, I well 
knew that every comrade with notice would answer roll-call at this hall. 

"As 3Iississippi is the daughter of the progressive State over which he 
presides as chief magistrate, and as an humble representative of the latter, 
the home of our great chief, for the eloquent words he has spoken, I would 
take Georgia's distinguished governor by the hand and say, ' God bless you. 
General Gordon.' 

"The great Mississippian lias fallen. To-day demonstrates the fact that 
no man has lived before hiui and none will live after him who will receive 
the same deserved tributes that he has received this day, the 11th of Decem- 
ber, 1S89. 



576 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Not a town, village or hamlet in all the Southern States that does not 
to-day mourn our great leader. 

"Throughout a long and eventful life, Mississippi was the hooie of Jeflfer- 
son Davis. 

" When he entered political life his commanding ability placed him at 
once in the front rank, and he became a trusted leader. 

"When war was declared with Mexico, and Mississippians repaired to the 
field of strife, they went under command of Col. Jefferson Davis ; and with- 
out detracting from any soldier who won fame in that conflict, history attests 
that the deeds of the gallant colonel of the First Mississippi Regiment 
marked him as a brilliant soldier and an accomplished commander. I said 
a moment ago that a higher tribute was paid our beloved chieftain to-day 
than will ever be paid another, because, comrades, there never was but one 
Confederate President, and he was that one. 

" I can endorse all that was said by our distinguished chairman and freely 
concur in the declaration that if President Davis could speak this moment, 
he would say to every Confederate soldier in the land, ' Be true to yourself, 
true to your memories and let impartial history transmit to future genera- 
tions that you made such a contest as was never before made in the world's 
history. 

" He spoke for the civilization and manhood of Mississippi in the grandest 
body under the sun, the Senate of the United States. 

" He was the representative of Democrats and Whigs alike, for both polit- 
ical parties united in honoring the great man whom you honor to-day. 
When the people of the South determined that justice and honor demanded 
on their part the establishment of a separate nationality, and every effort 
was to be put forth to that end, when assembled to inaugurate a govern- 
ment without means or even time to do what would usually be necessary to 
accomplish so great a purpose it was well-known to Mr. Davis's friends that 
he did not desire the presidency of the Confederacy but a position in the 
field. 

" A great soldier educated as a soldier, his friends were confident that he 
wouid add to that national reputation won upon the battle-fields of a foreign 
country. 

" When assembled in the city of Montgomery, and the time arrived for 
selecting a president, one who should be the official head and bear the banner 
of the Confederate States, all eyes were turned on the resolute Mississippian, 
and with a united voice they said, 'Jefferson Davis shall be our leader.' 

"When the Confederate flag went down his conduct and bearing chal- 
lenged the admiration of the civilized world. 

" I was commissioned, together with Colonel Giles M. Hillyer, by the gov- 
ernor of my State, Governor Benjamin G. Humphreys, to visit President 
Johnson, looking to the release of President Davis. After meeting Mr. 




MAYORS OF CITIES AND OTHER PROMINENT MEN IN ATTENDANCE AT THE 

FUNERAL. 



Wm. C. Haskell. 
Edvv. A. Graham. 
(Jeo. Wallace Jones. 



Wm. Wallace Hunter. 
Chas. E. Fenner. 
Wm. P. Johnston. 
I. Taylor EUyson, 



Frederick Stith Washington. 
Alfred Joshua Lewis. 
Wm. Dudley Chipley. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TIL 577 

Charles O'Conner, of New York, and William B. Reed, of Philadelphia, who 
were counsel for Mr. Davis, we visited Fortress Monroe where I spent an 
entire day with him in his prison quarters. Although emanciated and broken 
in health he was the same grand man. His hair whitened by suffering, as I 
believe, yet proud and erect, he looked the embodiment of the feelings of 
the Southern people, and he would have died by inches rather than have 
asked anything at the hands of his persecutors. 

" I must not, comrades, trespass further upon j'^our time, for there are many 
veterans present whom we desire to hear, but I want to add, when I left the 
Capitol of Mississippi yesterday evening, Judge Wiley P. Harris, a great 
lawyer, one who stands among the great American lawyers of this age, and 
General T. J. Wharton, a distinguished jurist, had discussed at length in a 
public meeting the question now being considered by this large body of 
veterans. 

"Comrades it is not possible that there is a Confederate soldier in all this 
land, who followed the stars and bars, who has not a lodgment in his bosom 
that everything necessary should be done for the family of our beloved chief. 

" The citizens of Jackson, without a dissenting voice, have already passed 
resolutions recommending that the Legislature, soon to assemble, appropri- 
ate one hundred thousand dollars for purposes and kindred objects now 
being considered by the veterans here present. 

" Comrades, I speak this evening as an humble representative of Missis- 
sippi, the home of President Davis, the people of his State loved him as they 
never loved man before, and in the presence of those who followed him, 
and the cause of which he was the official head, and about which no apolo- 
gies will or can be made, they will do all that can be asked at their hands. 

" I CDngratulate you, my brethren, that the opportunity was afforded the 
thousands of Confederate veterans now in the city, to look for the last time 
upon the face of our beloved chief, whose name will form a bright page on 
impartial history as long as the English language is spoken." 

GOVERNOK FOWLE, OF NORTH CAROLINA, 

Being pleasantly called out by Governor Gordon as representing the " Tar 
Heels," of whom he said " thar was a fight and they were thar when it 
occurred." Governor Fowle was cordially greeted, and enthusiastically 
applauded and cheered as he spoke as follows : 
" Comrade President : 

" Your expression of commendation are most flattering, but you have 
omitted the one thing in my history, which brings me the nearest to this 
people, as the representative of our dear old State, and that is, that I was 
born on. the banks of the old Tar river. 

" And I but voice the sentiment of our whole people, when I say of Jef- 
ferson Davis almost in the words of one of her able men, that he lived 

37 



578 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

belonging to no nation and died, reigning in the hearts of iwentij millmm of 
the people of our Own beloved Southland. 

" Eobert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson loved him, and this could never 
have been, had he not been pure, brave, sincere and faithful. 

" In the skies of the Southern hemisphere, there is a constellation which 
sends its dazzling beams throughout the silent night, across an admiring 
continent; it is known as the Southern Cross, but now in this Northern 
hemisphere, in our own Southern section, we have produced a constella- 
tion of heroes whose light irradiates the whole world, and makes men of 
all lands better and purer when they contemplate the virtues and heroism 
of our grand trio, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. 

" Even in this glorious land of ours, which has produced so many heroes 
and statesmen. North Carolina believes that there was no other who could 
have so successfully guided the Confederacy as our great dead leader. 

" Lee and Jackson are enshrined in the hearts of their admiring country- 
men, but did you ever consider how their glory and renown were achieved ? 
Did you ever reflect that they might have exercised all their powers and 
yet fame would have been to them a fleeing shadow, but for an effective 
factor, which realized in action their matured plans, and that factor was the 
bravery, heroism, and patriotism of the private soldier of the Confederacy. 
Take from our history his devotion and gallantry and few indeed would 
have been the laurels entwining the memories of any of our departed 
leaders. They gloried in the fame and renown of their immortal chief- 
tains and with forgotten graves were themselves content. Animated alone 
by intense affection for their native soil and jealous alone of her good name 
and fame, the private soldier of the Confederacy was the sternest, justest 
critic ever known. 

"Around your camp-fires, my countrymen, you have heard the criticisms 
from private lips upon well-known leaders. Why they approved or con- 
demned they could not always tell, but their verdict was somehow rarely 
wrong. Now, no man ever iieard anything but approbation for Jefferson 
Davis from the private soldier. 

"Upon his emaciated limbs were [forcibly placed the irons for what you 
and I had done, as well as he, but as the grating click was heard, throughout 
this Southland there went forth from the hearts of our people the tenderest, 
sweetest love for their martyr hero. Since then, with dignity and grace, 
suffering for a whole people, he has borne our burden, and now he has gui^ 
leaving behind him a record for j)urity and sincerity as stainless as ever 
bequeathed by mortal man. 

"Of him we can truly say that, 'having thus bestowed his life upon hi« 
country, he has achieved for himself a fame which will never decay, a sepul- 
chre which will always be most ilkistrious, not that in which his bones will 
moulder, l)nt that in which his fame is preserved, to be on every occasion 
in which honor is the employ of tongue or pen eternally remembered.' 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 679 

"And now you ask what North Carolina will do to show her love and sym- 
pathy for the widow and child of our hero. 1 am not authorized to say ; 
butjthis I know, that, though North Carolina may be slow, she always does 
her duty.' 

" Upon Ciovernor Fowle's taking his seat, there was such long continued 
applause and cries for him to continue that Governor (xordon presented him 
again to the audience, w'hereupon, after acknowledging the compliment of 
the recall. Governor Fowle resumed : 

" Let me say one word in regard to that flag which Mr. Secretary Proctor 
refused to raise at half-mast over his office when the greatest ex-Secretary 
of Wat which the United States ever had died. Did he not know, that 
when the United States was engaged in war with Mexico, and Zachary Tay- 
lor sat on his old white horse upon the battle-field of Buena Vista, and the 
battle seemed almost lost, when four thousand Mexicans were charging the 
battery with which Capt. Bragg were giving them a little more grape, and 
the ]\Iississippi regiment was called upon to make the charge which has 
ever since been so famous, that the very flag which he refused to hoist at 
half-mast over the office of the Secretary of "War flashed like a meteor 
across that field, and, in the blood of a defeated foe, was crowned with new 
glory by the hands of Jefferson Davis ? Although at one time I diff'ered 
from him, I found him as calm in defeat as George Washington was in vic- 
tory ; and I believe his name and fame will grow brighter with the coming 
years, and the time will come when our entire nation will render him honor. 

"And to-night, my countrymen, I tell you that I love that flag, and I 
believe that Jefferson Davis had a fond feeling for it all the days of his life- 
He had reflected honor upon it. He loved it. Mr. Davis loved the Union, 
and was slow to go into the late war between the States, but when he went» 
like North Carolina, he went to stay; and I tliank him for his firmness, for 
he continued the war until all of us, who were his followers, saw and appre- 
ciated that the Union of the States was not to be dissolved. 

" Knowing that his noble heart was filled to overflowing with love for this 
great country of ours, I believe that when he saw that the Confederacy 
could not be established, that he desired this country to become greater and 
more prosperous than it had ever been before. Here at his gravelet us show 
that the hearts of the Southern people are in unison with the government 
of our fathers. 

"And when the monument is raised to our nation's hero, Abraham Lin- 
coln, piercing almost the very clouds, let us erect a monument equally as 
high, and upon its toj) let us emblason in letters of gold the name of our 
hero, Jefferson DaAis." 

GOVERNOR F. T. NICIIOLLS. 

The gallant "Soldier-Governor" of Louisiana, Gen. Nichols, who proved 
his devotion to the cause by loosing both a leg and an arm and being 



580 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME 

wounded several other times and still continuing in the service, and whom 
his people have honored by twice electing him governor, was loudly called 
for and enthusiastically received, but excused himself in a few remarks, in 
which he said that he was at home and wished to hear from the visitor.^, 
but expressed his hearty approval of the resolutions, and pledged Louisiana 
in doing her part towards carrying them into practical effect. 

GOVERNOR S. B. BUCKNER, OF KENTUCKY. 

Gen. Buckner, being called out, was loudly applauded, and made a brief 
speech, in which he said : 

" There is no necessity of asking a citizen of a State that claims the honor 
of giving birth to Jefferson Davis to contribute to a fund for Mrs. Davis- 
Kentucky did not secede from the Union, but she contributed many men to 
the cause, which we believed then to be just and which we know now to be 
right. 

" The Confederates to-night who revere the cause for which they fought 
have a duty to perform, and I feel confident in pledging ourselves and say- 
ing that we will do our part. I therefore advocate the adoption of the reso- 
lution." 

GOVERNOR F. P. FLEMING, OF FLORIDA. 

Governor Gordon introduced Governor Fleming as another " Soldiei'-Gov- 
ernor," and being received with loud applause, he spoke as follows: 
" Mr. President and brother soldiers : 

" I was neither a colonel nor a general during the late war, but carried 
my musket as a private soldier on the fields of Virginia. 

" The distinguished soldier who presides over this meeting, and whom 
you have so wisely chosen to be the commander of the United Confederate 
Veteran Association, impressed upon us in his address to-night the virtues 
of true manhood as illustrated by the character of our beloved chief whom 
we have just laid to rest ; and this carries me back to an occasion at an early 
period of the war, when in the ranks of the Second Florida at Yorktown, I 
first saw General Gordon, who was then colonel of the Sixth Alabama, at a 
time when under peculiar circumstances his own manhood was conspicu- 
ously displayed, as throughout the war were his great abilities as a soldier. 

" No day of my life passes without the realization that I have abundant 
cause for thankfulness to Almighty God for his many mercies and blessings ; 
but, my comrades, I feel that I have cause for thankfulness to-day above all 
others that I was permitted to participate in that grand demonstration of 
the sorrow and affection of an afflicted people at the bier of our lamented 
chief, and that it was my privilege to follow his remains to the tomb. 

" The name of Jefferson Davis will occupy a place among the grandest 
figures of history. A distinguished soldier, an eminent statesman, a pro- 
found scholar, a true patriot, and a Christian gentleman, his life was as 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 58l 

pure as the whitest flower which loving hands iiave placed upon his bier. 
He served his country with fidelity and zeal and suffered for his people 
without complaint. We should never cease to thank God that his life was 
spared to contribute to history that masterly production of his great mind> 
the "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," which gives to the 
world such a faithful, logical and able exposition of the Southern cause. It 
should be read not only by every Southern man and woman, but by every 
one who seeks after historic truth, and would learn the great underlying 
principles which animated the people of the South in their struggle to main- 
tain the right of self-government. 

" Florida has never failed to respond to the calls of duty, and Florida's 
blood w^as shed on every battle-field in which the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia or the Army of Tennessee was engaged. She will not be behind her 
Southern sisters now that we may hope to have the privilege, in some 
manner, of extending aid to the family of him who suffered so much 
because of the burdens we placed upon him. I can promise for my State 
that she will do her full duty." 

GOVERNOR F. P. EAGLE, OF ARKANSAS, 

Being introduced as still another "Soldier-Governor," and being warmly 
received, was loudly applauded as he spoke as follows : 
" Mr. President and ex-Confederate Soldiers: 

" This is a sad hour, and yet we have reasons for rejoicing. Sad 
because we are just from the funeral of one of the purest and greatest men 
this country has ever produced. One who lead the fortunes of the South- 
ern Confederacy from its rise to its fall. We would have hearts of steel if 
after a four years' struggle together in one common cause with that great 
man at our head, who entered into the deepest sympathy with us in all of 
our sufferings and privations on the bittle-field and around the camp fires, 
could we witnesss the solemn ceremonies of to-day and not feel sad. 

" In the midst of our mourning we are rejoiced to know that while the 
eyes of the world have been turned in on him with magnified force, during 
a long active life as a citizen, a soldier, and a statesman, nowhere in all of 
his eventful career can there be found one act in which there was the least 
semblance of dishonesty or the w^ant of fidelity. Profound ability, noted 
courage and purity of character marked his every act, from his youth to the 
day of his death. He has been scrutinized and criticised as no other man 
has ever been in this country, and he comes out of the crucible as true as 
gold. 

"The Southern people did not favor secession because they wanted to dis- 
solve the union, but seeing the determined purpose on the part of the North 
to disregard the principles upon which the union of the States rested, as we 
understood them, the South resorted to the extremity of exercising her 
State sovereignty by withdrawing from the Union. After four years of the 



682 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

bloodiest conflict known in modern times the battle went against us. The 
right of secession was settled when the star of the Southern Confederacj'- 
which had shone with so much brilliancy for a time went down. The 
Southern States returned to their places in the Union. To-day the people of 
the South are as loyal to the United States government as are the people of 
the North. It is our country. It is our government. 

" I have never believed that it was right for ]\Ir. Davis to be made to suf- 
fer for what the whole people of the South did. He Avas only one of us; Ave 
took the step with our eyes open. Secession was the act of the people. It 
was the spotless character, the imdaunted courage, and the unquestioned 
statesmanship of Mr. Davis that placed him at the head of the Confederate 
government, and not because he specially desired the place. 

" If he was guilty of treason we were all guilty. We were all in the same 
boat. 

" I feel safe in saying that Arkansas will come up to the full measure of 
her duty to Mrs. Davis and her daughter, on whatever plan may be adopted, 
and will take pleasure in doing so. 

"We will also assist in furnishing means with which to erect a monument 
to the memory of our great leader, which should be equal to anything of the 
kind in this or any other country. 

" I am indeed glad to meet so many Confederate veterans as are assembled 
in this hall to-night, by whose side I stood on many battle-fields. Comrades, 
soon we too will be gathered to our Fathers. Let us be ready." 

EX-GOVERNOR F. R. LUBBOCK, OF TEXAS. 

Col. Lubbock, being called out and introduced as first "War Governor of 
Texas" and then aid to President Davis, was cordially received and heartily 
applauded as he spoke as follows : 

" Honorable Commander : 

"What can I add to the beautiful and patriotic speeches that have 
been made to-night by the distinguished veterans assembled to do honor to 
the memory of our illustrious chieftain and to provide for liis devoted wife 
and daughter ? 

"I must venture, however, to utter a few words to give relief to my aching 
heart. Standing in the rotunda of the grand Capitol at Austin, Texas, when 
the news was announced that Jefferson Davis had passed over the river, 
from the fullness of my heart I said, 'Jefferson Davis dead ! then the light 
of the greatest and best man of the century has been extinguished ; Jeffer- 
son Davis, the embodiment of patriotism, the true soldier, the intelligent 
statesman, the ripe scholar, the refined gentleman, and, above all, the earn- 
est follower of Christ.' Sir, it was my good fortune to be most intimately 
connected with the great and noble man. Just after I left the otlice of gov- 
ernor, for the Confederate army, Jefferson Davis, without the slightest 
knowledge on my part of his intention to do so, honored me by nominating 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TU. 583 

me as colonel of cavalry and aid-de-camp to himself. I reported to him as 
soon as horse and rail could take me to Richmond, and I served with him 
in his military family to the bitter end. 

" I had previously known Mr. Davis, and to know him was to admire the 
many qualities that marked him a.i a great man. 

" From close contact I soon learned to love him for liis noble manhood — 
his devotion to his country, his earnestness in the discharge of the great 
trusts committed to his hands by a devoted and admiring people, and for 
his tender care of those connected with him ; his suavity to his inferiors in 
rank, his fair dealings in all things with all men. I loved him for his great 
heart. I took pleasure in being near him and listening to his conversation, 
so full of intelligence, so chaste, so elegant, and there was soul in itall. 

"My comrades, he was a grand man ; the greatest, all in all, this country 
has produced. 

" They say he is dead, comrades ; he is beyond our sight, but he is not 
dead ; he lives in the spirit land. He lives with Lee and Stonewall Jackson, 
and Albert Sidney Johnston, and others of our great and pure men ; as the 
distinguished Bishop said to-day, ' AVhen the roll call is made in heaven 
Jefferson Davis answers, Here.' Yes, we all know such as he make up the 
kingdom of heaven. 

"He is not dead; he lives a higher life above. He is not dead, (hough we 
have laid him in the tomb, for he lives in our hearts, and he will ever live 
in the hearts of our children. 

"Commander, comrades, I apj^rove and endorse the resolutions offered by 
our distinguished comrade, Gen. Stephen D. Lee, and I will do all in my 
power to aid in carrying them into effect." 

HON. J. TAYLOR ELLYSON, MAYOR OF RICHMOND, VA. 

Dr. J. AVm. Jones arose and, being loudly applauded, said: "No! my 
comrades, I did not rise to speak, but only to say just this: We have heard 
with deepest interest and pleasure from our 'Soldier-Governors.' [By the 
way, these Southern States seem to have fallen into the good habit of mak- 
ing governors out of old Confederate soldiers.] 

•'There is general regret that the soldier-governor of Virginia — our gal- 
lant Fitz. Lee— is not here to speak for his State. AVe know that, 'though 
absent in body, he is present in spirit.' 

" But we have, fortunately, with us the soldier-mayor of the old capital 
of the Confederacy, and I am sure that we -would all ;be glad to hear from 
Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson, of Richmond.' 

Amidst loud calls and enthusiastic applause, Mr. Ellyson took the stand 
and spoke as follows, his speech being frctiuently punctuated with applause: 

"J/?-. President: 

" I am here as the representative of Richmond, about whose seven hills 
cluster some of the most precious and hallowed memories of Confederate 



684 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

days. I have come, in the name of my peoi^le, to do honor to the memory 
of him who was the chosen and illustrious chief of the Southern Confeder- 
acy ; and as I stood to-day by the bier of Jefferson Davis, I felt that I was 
looking upon the mortal remains of a man who had been as loyal to the 
principles of free government Jis any American that ever lived. 

" Whatever advanced age, accumulated public honors, spotless integrity, 
and a firm religious faith could do for any man was done for Jefferson Davis. 

''What a grand incentive to :i noble action is founil in such a life. A 
brave soldier, a wise senator, a judicious cabinet officer, a grand leader of a 
great people. What a lofty inspiration the study of his life affords the 
youth of our land. And yet I sometimes fear we may suffer the fate of 
Carthage in having the history of our struggle for independence written by 
an alien pen. I do not know how better we could honor the memory of 
Jefferson Davis than by teaching the children of the South a knowledge of 
the righteousness of the cause for which he contended. I have, for my 
part, determined that the youth of the capital city of the Old Dominion 
shall learn to revere the memories of such heroes as Eobert E. Lee, Stone- 
wall Jackson, Albert Sidney Johnston and Jefferson Davis ; and so, when I 
heard of the death of our revered President, I determined that I would 
honor his memory by offering a gold medal to the pupil of our High School 
who should write during the present session the best essay on the life and 
character of Jefferson Davis. In this way I hope to cultivate in the hearts 
of the children love for the study of Confederate history and to give them 
some knowledge of the men and iirinciples of that fateful period in the 
annals of the P :)uthern jieople. 

"There is no danger that we who fought under the stars and bars shall 
ever be forgetful of the memories of those four stormy years, or prove false 
to the generous motives that then animated our lives; but there is danger, 
and real danger, that our children may be taught that the cause for which 
we fought was treason, and we but traitors. From such a fate may a kind 
Providence spare us ! Then let us see that histories are written which shall 
contain the true story of Southern valor, and which shall teach our children 
that the soldiers of the Southern Confederacy were not rebels, but were 
Americans who loved Constitutional liberty as something dearer than life 
itself. 

" Let us be certain that our children know that the war between the 
States was not a contest for the preservation of slavery, as some would have 
them believe, but that it was a great struggle for the maintainance of Con- 
stitutional rights, and that the men who fought 

" Were warriors tried and true, 

Who bore the flag of a Nation's trust, 
And fell in a cause, though lost, still just, 

And died for me and vou.'" 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 585 

In response to calls, earnest speeches were made by Dr. J. William Jones, 
of Atlanta; General Harrison, of Montgomery; and Colonel M. H. Cliflf, of 
Tennessee, and the resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically 
adopted. 

Rev. Dr. T. R. Markhara, in a few eloquent words, called attention to the 
causes of gratitude to God we had in the circumstances of the death and 
burial of our great chief, and Governor Gordon called on him to close the 
meeting with prayer, which he did in an earnest and appropriate thanks- 
giving, to which every heart seemed to say ' Amen !' 

We have reported this meeting thus fully because of its represent ative 
character. It was, in truth, the tribute of all of the States to our dead — yet 
living — chief. 

We have given the account of the obsequies, and of the meeting of Con- 
federate veterans in New Orleans very fully, not only because of their inhe- 
rent interest, but because they are really the SoutJilaml's tribute to our dead 
President, since every State was represented. 

We will only add that tlie day after the funeral the eight governors 
called, as a body, to pay their respects to Mrs. Davis and her daughter, Mrs. 
Hayes (Miss Winnie was in Paris, on a trip for her health and was not able, 
of course, to be with her father during his illness, or to attend the funeral), 
and numbers of other friends called and were received with characteristic 
grace and dignity by these accomplished and noble women. 

Crowds also visited the tomb for many succeeding days, and as long 
as the precious dust remains there it will be a ]\Iecca for Confederate pil- 
grims. 

It had been our purpose to give in full the World\s tribute to his memory—- 
the telegrams, resolutions, editorials, speeches, sermons, &c., grouping the 
tributes of each State — and we have in hand the fullest material for the 
purpose. 

Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that the memorial meetings held 
were as numerous, the tributes to his memory so general, and the grief of 
our Southland at the loss of our grand old chief so universal, that we 
have enough of this material to make a volume of 1,000 or 1,500 pages, and 
would under any circumstances be compelled to omit a large part of it. 

But we are especially annoyed to find that the first part of our book 
(alreadj^ printed, so that we cannot cut out any part of that) has so far ex- 
ceeded our proposed limits that we are now compelled to omit many of 
the speeches, resolutions, editorials, &c., which we had particularly desired 
to insert, and some of which, at our request, the authors had troubled them- 
selves to send us. 

There is, however, nothing left us but to condense many things and to leave 
out altogether others which we had purposed publishing in full. 

This explanation is due alike to those who have so kindly furnished ns 
the material, and to ourselves. 



686 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Virginia's tribute. 

The tribute of the old Commonwealth was general, loving, tender and 
full ; Richmond, the capital of the State and the old capital of the Confed- 
eracy, led the way and all of the towns and villages— aye! all of the homes 
and all of the people of the old —State followed in paying appropriate respect 
and honor to him who was their defender, leader, friend, in the dark days 
of war. 

The Dispatch, the Times, the State, the Religious Herald, the Central Pres- 
byterian, the Christian Advocate, the Southern Churchman and other papers 
published in Richmond, all had appropriate editorial notices of his death; 
while the daily papers had full biographical sketches and full reports of 
everything pertaining to the life, sickness, death, and funeral of the great 
Southerner. But this is true equally with all of the papers of the State 
and, indeed, of the South generally. 

The Governor of the State— General Fitzhugh Lee— who had been one of 
the most gallant and skilful soldiers whom President Davis ever com- 
missioned, and who was always his warm, personal friend, issued the fol- 
lowing proclamation : 
" To the people of Virginia: 

"Jeflerson Davis is dead. The hearts of our people are heavy with 
f^orrow. Our grief is natural and proper. Our mourning unreserved and 
sincere. 

" When certain States of the American Union, some of which had much 
to do with the formation of the republic, declared that the Government which 
the States themselves had created was destructive of their rights and 
attempted ' to assume among the powers of the earth ' a separate and equal 
station, they selected this illustrious statesman as their Chief IMagistrate. 
In the estimation of many of his fellow-citizens in other sections he was a 
traitor; in the opinion of the same people we, too, are regarded as guilty of 
treason, and with him should equally share all responsibilities attaching to 
such action. 

" When he was our ruler we gave him our dutiful obedience ; when he 
was in prison and in irons, our profound compassion ; when in the retire- 
ment of private life, our respect and reverence. And now that he is ' sleep- 
ing his last sleep,' we would be recreant to the elevated traits of human 
nature if we failed in a proper manner to do honor to his memory. 

"We are again citizens of the United States. Once more "Virginia is 
equally interested with the other States in promotingtheglory of a common 
country ; but such citizenship does not require us to treat as unknown the 
records of the past. 

" Having been informed officially by the mayor of the city of New Orleans 
that the funeral services of this eminent citizen will take place in that city 
at noon on Wednesday next, the 11th instant, and in order that there may 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 587 

be unanimous action on the part of those of our people who desire to testify 
in a befitting manner their respect for his services and character, I have the 
honor to recommend that upon that day, at the hour named, memorial ser- 
vices be held in the churches throughout the Commonwealth. 

" In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the great 
seal of the State of Virginia to be affixed. Done at the capitol, in Rich- 
mond, this 7th day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and eighty-nine, and the 114th year of the Commonwealth, 

" FiTZHUGH Lee, 

" Governor of Virginia, 
" By the Governor : 

"H.W.Flourxoy, 

^^ Secretary cfthe Commonwealth." 

In speaking to a reporter, Governor Lee said : 

"Jefferson Davis was, in my opinion, in many respects, one of the great- 
est men this republic has ever produced. He was able, bold, true, manly, 
conscientious, clear in thought, admirable in expression, cultured in address, 
and stood steady in his firm belief in the construction and doctrines of this 
government, though the very ' lightning scorched the ground beneath his 
feet.' The Southern people loved him because he sutfered for them. They 
are prepared to protect and guard his memory from the fierce future winds 
of prejudice in saying to all those who hated him, and whose hearts are 
consumed at this hour ^by sectional animosities, ' If this be treason, make 
the most of it." 

The soldier-mayor of Richmond issued the following proclamation; 

"Mayor's Office, 
" RicHjioNi), \ A., December 9, 1889. 

"To the People of Richmond : 

" The shadow of a great sorrow has fallen upon our cit3% Jeflerson 
Davis is dead. The people of Richmond need no exhortation to do honor 
to his memory. His virtues and his patriotism have forever enshrined 
him in their hearts. I would, however, recommend that, in furtherance ol 
the suggestion contained in the proclamation of the governor, and in com- 
pliance with the resolution of the City Council, that all business be sus- 
pended on next Wednesday, the day of the funeral, and that our citizens 
repair to their respective places of worship and unite in such memorial ser- 
vices as may be most expressive of their grief at the loss of our distinguished 
President, the four most eventful years of Mhose illustrious life were spent 
within our borders. 

"I would, as a further mark of respect, order that all the municipal offices 
be closed on the above day. 

"J. Taylor Ellyson, Mayor." 



588 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

The City Council, Chamber of Commerce, R. E. Lee Camp of Confederate 
Veterans, Pickett Camp, and other organizations passed feeling and appro- 
priate resolutions. 

We could fill many pages with expressions from distinguished Virginians, 
but can find space for only the following from two gallant and accomplished 
soldiers : 

General I). H. Maury, a long-time friend of Mr. Davis, wrote to the Dis- 
2>atch : 

"Dauntless courage was the foundation of that great character which so 
long guided our struggles for nationality. In a long and stormy life it never 
failed friend nor foe, and met good and evil fortune with equal front. When 
riding along his victorious lines at Manassas, when manacled in his cell,and 
when confronting his accusers and executioners, Jefierson Davis was ever 
the same calm, lofty leader of a great cause and a great people. Calm in 
battle as Joe Johnson, generous as M. C. Butler, gentle and tender as R. E. 
Lee, a born leader of men, his heart and his hand were ever open to every 
touch of tenderness or sympathj', and great and daring as he was in war 
and in council, ho was greater in his home. 

"Dabney H. Maury." 

Gen. William H. Payne, of Warrenton, in enclosing check for $100 for the 
monument, to the Richmond State, wrote : 

"Richmond, where he ruled as king, is the only place to bury our king. 

" It was the place chosen by the whole Confederacy as its head and heart, 
and it is the place where its highest heroes should sleep. 

" Men seem to forget that Richmond was the real theatre whereon Mr. 
Davis acted his noblest part. It seems sacrilege to bury him elsewhere. 

"Let the Legislature and the City Council send messengers to Mrs. Davis 
entreating her to give us dead what we so much honored when living. 

" No defeated leader ever lived so noble a life. 

" Let all the South weep for her honored son, but let Virginia hold his 
remains. 

" W. H. Payne." 

The vestry of St. Paul's Church adopted suitable resolutions, and set apart 
two windows of the church for memorial windows " to R. E. Lee and Jef- 
ferson Davis — par nohilefrairum." 

"Memorial Daij" December 11, 1889, was very generally observed in Rich- 
mond. 

The State and city offices, the railroad depots, the banks, and business 
houses generally were closed; many of the houses were draped, and 
immense crowds of people attended the memorial services. 

At St. Paul's Church the venerable Dr. Charles Minnigerode delivered the 
eloquent and touching address which we have already given in full. 



'&r-'^ 



A/ O^ 






•A-iJ . 














LITTLE JOE DAVIS'S GRAVE JN HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY, RICHMOND, VA. 



690 Tin: DAVU' ^fEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Monumental (Episcopal) Church was packed to its utmost capacity. Rev. 
Dr. Lewis William Burton, of St. John's Church Rev. Preston Nash, of St. 
James, and Rev. James R. Funsten, of Christ Church, all took part in the 
services, and the rector, Rev. Dr. J. B. Newton, delivered an eloquent and 
appropriate address, which ho closed by saying: 

" Grateful for all these noble qualities of mind and heart for his God- 
given genius and spotless name, as we stand to-day beneath the shadows of 
the grave we are more grateful still (hat Jefferson Davis, the hero of Buena 
Vista, the great statesman, the faithful leader of his people, at the moment 
of his highest human glory bowed his head and confessed himself openly 
before the world a lowly follower of Jesus Christ." 

At Moore Memorial Episcopal Church,|Rev. Dr.Sprigg, the Rector, delivered 
an impressive address to a full house. 

At the Broad Street Methodist Church the congregation was very large. The 
pastor, Rev. Dr. J. S. Lambeth introduced the services by saying : 

" The booming of the guns, the tolling of the bells, the half-masted flags, 
.iind the mourning badges that surround us tell us that the mortal remains 
<jf a peerless gentleman, 1 ho great leader, are about to be committed to 
mother earth. I tliank God that he ever gave to the world such a man 
iis Jefferson Davis." 

Rev. Dr. Sturgis, B -v. Dr. Bledsoe, Bev. Dr. W. E. Judkins, Rev. J.C. 
Martin, Rev. C. C. Wertenbaker, Rev. J. A. Jefferson, Rev. J. P.Woodward, 
Dr. J. L. Buchanan and others participated in the services. 

Rev. Dr. J. Wiley Bledsoe, Rev. Dr. W. E. Judkins, Major W. T. Sutherlin 
of Danville, and Rev. Dr. Atkins, president of Emory and Henry college, 
made feeling and appropriate tributes to the " Grandest of American States- 
men" — as Dr. Atkins pronounced him. 

Major Sutherlin feelingly and eloquently recalled reminiscences of Presi- 
dent Davis's stay at his house, in Danville, after the evacuation of Richmond. 

Dr. Lambeth, an old chaplain in the Army of Northern Virginia, closed 
the services by saying : 

"Jefferson Davis— the soldier, the statesman, and peerless gentleman— is 
no more. He deserves the grandest monument that can be erected to his 
memory ; but the best monument is that which has this day been erected 
in the hearts of the Southern people." 

At the Second Baptist Church, at 11:30 every seat was occupied, and the 
hundreds who came afterwards were turned away. The Baptist pastors of 
Richmond and Manchester were on the platform. Dr. Hatcher presided 
Dr. Whitfield led in prayer, and Drs. Cooper and Frost and Revs. S. C, Clop- 
ton and L. R. Thornhill took part in the services. 

The faculty and students of Richmond College and of the Richmond 
Female Institute, and Pickett Camp Confederate Veterans, attended the 
meeting, and the deepest solemnity and tenderest feeling pervaded the vast 
crowd. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TIL 591 

After a brief but appropriate introductory address by Dr. Hatcher, Rev. 
Dr. S. A. Goodwin, of Grove Avenue Baptist Church, made an address of rare 
eloquence, in which he spoke of Mr. Davis as patriot, statesman, soldier, 
and Christian. Dr. Goodwin was himself a gallant Confederate soldier. 

Rev. Dr. W. W. Landrum, pastor of the Second Baptist Church (who is 
bound to the Davis family by the tender tie that his brother and Jefferson 
Davis, Jr., both died of yellow fever in Memphis about the same time and 
their fathers and mothers mingled their sympathies and tears), made an 
eloquent and appropriate address on " The lessons of the hour." 

At the Seveyith Street Christian Church Elder L. A. Cutler addressed the large 
and deeply interested crowd in an eloquent and impressive manner. 

Lee Camp Confederate Veterans attended the Second Presbyterian clmrch, 
having invited the pastor, Rev. Dr. M. D. Ht)ge, one of their hononiry mem- 
bers, to address them. The spacious house was ( rowded long before the 
appointed hour, and many went away unable to find even standing room. 
Rev. Drs. C. H. Retnl, AV. T. Richardson, Hoge, Campbell, and Fair,and Rev. 
Messrs. Stewart, Gammon, and TarnbuU participated in the services. 

Rev. Dr. ]\I. D. Iloge, who has been pastor of this same church for forty- 
five years, who had close relations with ]\Ir. Davis during the war, who \.i 
widely known as one of the finest pulpit orators in the country, and who 
made the great oration at the unveiling of the statut )f Stonewall Jackson 
in Richmond, fully sustained his high reputation and met the expectations 
of the vast crowd by an address which the Dispatch pronounced "faultless." 

The Virginia Legislature was in session at the time, but adjourned to attend 
the services at the churches, and held their own memorial meeting after 
these had adjourned. 

The following joint resolutions were unanimously adopted after eloquent 
and appropriate addresses in the Senate by Hon. J. N.Stubbs, of Gloucester ; 
Hon. H. G. Peters, of Henry, and Senator Moore, of Fairfax]; and in the 
House by Hon. R. C. Kent, of Wythe , Judge Bolen, of Carroll ; Hon. Green- 
lee Letcher, of Rockbridge (son of the "War-Governor" of Virginia), and 
Clerk of the House .John Bell Bigger: 

" 1. Resolved, Thatthe people of this Commonwealth have heard with pro- 
found sorrow of the death of Hon. Jefferson Davis, the ex-President of the 
Confederate States of America. We recognize in the death of Mr. Davis the 
loss of a distinguished soldier, statesman, and patriot. In every position of 
life, whether on the field of battle, in the councils of the nation, or as chief 
of the Southern Confedcj-acy, Mr. Davis was distinguished for his fidelity to 
principle, lofty patriotism, and loyalty to the trusts imposed upon him. 
The people of the Southern States^ of whom he was the chosen chief magis- 
trate, are honored in his pure record and stainless life. His name is insepa- 
rably connected with tlie history of our country, and the historian of the 
future, when passion and strife have cleared, will assign to this hero of the 
' Lost Cause ' a place among the wise and good men of all the ages. 



592 THE DA VIS MEMORIA L VOL VME. 

"2. The General Assembly respectfully tenders its sympathy to his family 
in their bereavement. 

"3. That these resolutions be spread upon the Journal of each house, and 
be communicated to the Governor with the request that he impart them to 
the family of the deceased. 

" 4. As a further mark of respect to his memory, upon the passage of these 
resolutions the General Assembly will adjourn for this day." 

The RicTnnond Howitzers, whose guns were heard on every battle-field in 
Virginia from Big Bethel to Appomattox, fired " minute guns," beginning at 
7 A. M., and the tribute of the capital of the Confederacy to " our dead Pres- 
ident" was very warm and appropriate in all of its features. 

A pleasing incident may be added. When the venerable Dr. J. V. Hob- 
son and his good wife— who for some years have assumed the "labor of 
love " of caring for the grave of little Joe Davis over which the children of 
Richmond erected a monument — went on the afternoon of memorial day to 
carry their oflfering of flowers, they found that other loving hands had been 
before them, and that the little grave was covered with the most beautiful 
flowers to be found. But Richmond's tribute did not cease with memor.iaI 
day. 

On Saturday night, December 21st, the spacious Academy of Music was 
filled with the elite of the city, assembled to honor Mr. Davis and beseech 
his body for interment in the old capitol of the Confederacy. 

Hon. J. Taylor EUyson, Mayor of thecity, called the meeting to order, and 
after a fervent and appropriate prayer by Rev. Dr. M. D. Hoge, made a brief 
but very appropriate address and called on Governor Fitzhugh Lee to pre- 
side over the meeting. 

In taking the chair Governor Lee made an etrrnest and eloquent address 
which was heartily applauded. 

He concluded by saying : 

" Such is the man, ladies and gentlemen, the capitol city of the Confed- 
eracy remembers this evening. For four years he was a familiar figure on 
our streets, in his executive office, and on horseback as he rode around the 
lines of fire then encircling the city. 

" When the ship of the new republic was launched he was called to the 
command and was with her 'rocked in the cradle of the deep.' Storms of 
war burst upon her deck before her machinery was even put in motion; but 
through the thunder's roar, when the cordage was rent, Avhen the breakers 
were dashing against her, when despair was visible upon the faces of some 
of the crew, and when she began to settle and sink amid the lurid flashing 
of the lightning, the captain was seen standing calm, heroic, resolute, grand 
in all the glory of a man, grasping with a firm hand the helm as she sank 
down, down in the sea of eternity. 

"Here let the soldier sleej), whose sword flashes no longer in the forefront 
of battle. 



ins SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 593 

*' Here let the orator be buried, upon whoso lips audiences were once sus- 
pended mngicdly ixi if by golden chains. 

"Here let the statesman rest, Watched over and guarded by the city that 
ever received his loving attention. 

"Here let the chieftain be brought and buried in May, when a monument is 
to be unveiled to one of his army commanders, when Nature spreads her 
carpet of green, when in the aisles of the orchard the blossoms are drifting 
and * the tulip's pale stalk in the garden is lifting a goblet of gems to the 
sun.' And here too let us erect a monument that will stand in lofty and 
lasti ig attestation to tell our children's children of our leva for the memory 
of Jefferson Davis." 

Major Charles S. Stringfellow was the next speaker on the programme and 
pronounced an eloquent, chaste, and appropriate eulogy on the "good, pure, 
able and brave" leader, and made a powerful plea for Richmond as the 
proper place for his grave and monument. He was frequentlj' interrupted 
with rapturous applause. 

The Committee on resolutions — consisting of General Peyton Wise, Messrs. 
Thomas Nelson Page, and Page McCarty, Colonel Richard F. Beirne, and 
Colonel Archer Anderson — made their report through General Wise, who 
prefaced withafew eloquent remarks, the following resolutions, which were 
seconded by Mr. J. Bell Bigger in a few earnest remarks, and unanimously 
adopted : 

" Like a ripe oak in the stillness of the forest, a great man has falllen. Jef- 
ferson Davis, of Mississippi — laurelled officer in the army. Secretary of War, 
Senator of the United States, and late President of the Confederate States — 
having added the crowning grace of a Christian life to the sturdy strength 
of his natural manhood, has been gathered to his fathers. 

" He had not merely been the representative of the cause of the Southern 
people; he not only when this failedtookour burdens upon him and suffered 
in our stead, but he was the type of whateveris best and truest in the South- 
ern character, of its undying love of liberty, its unswerving devotion to law 
and order, its uncompromising adherence to principle, its gentleness and 
gallantry, its simplicity and good faith, and its chivalrous defence of women 
and children and of whatever is weak against whatever is strong. 

" We, citizens of Richmond, in mass-meeting assembled, come, there- 
fore, to-night lovingly and earnestly, not to bury, but to praise him ; not 
simply to mourn him, but to make memorials of him and to rejoice that Gol 
gave hina to us for an example and an inspiration forever. And we come, too, 
without apology, but without defiance, with affectionate regards for our fel- 
low-citizens, everywhere, but with special love for him, to commend his 
character to all America as one to bj reverentially pondered, and which in 
the special respect of stern fidelity to honest convictions is altogether 
admirable and glorious. 



591 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

"With these sentiments, and proud and grateful to have them in us, we 
resolve : 

"1. That as Riclunond was the Capitol of the Confederato States and the 
place where his high manhood and statesmanship, his stainless probity and 
glad self-sacrifico for the Southern people were most conspicuously illus- 
trated, Eichmond, on behalf of all the Southern people, should be tho spot 
where his remains shall be tenderly guarded, and where a statue (now 
gladly pledged) rising above them shall teach to Southern youth that not 
worldly success but duty done at every hazard upon every field, and thj 
being every inch a man in evil report as in good report, through all suffer- 
ing of the body and the mind, are the real goals of the Christian gentleman. 
And we humbly pray the beloved widow of our great Chief to give those 
remains to us for such a disposal of them. 

" 2. That the Governor of Virginia, Avho is the chairman of this meeting, 
be requested to convey our action to Mrs. Jefferson Davis." 

The regular programme being over, there were loud calls for Hon. J. L. M. 
Curry, who had known Mr. Davis in the old United States Congress, and 
when a member of the Confederate Congress, and in response he made a 
brief address of rare beauty, pathos, and eloquence. 

Dr. J. William Jones responded to loud calls and made a ten minutes' 
speech, which he closed by saying : 

" We are loyal citizens of tho United States now, and we would not revive 
bitter memories of a stormy past. But we must see to it that our children 
and our children's children are taught that their fathers were not rebels' 
and ' traitors,' but as true patriots as the world ever saw, and thatthatcause 
could not be 'treason' for which Albert Sidney Johnston, and Stonewall 
Jackson, and Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis, and the barefooted and 
ragged heroes who followcvl them to an immortality of fame, gave their 
stainless, noble lives." 

This sentiment was greeted with vociferous applause and cheers. 

Richmond had yet another immense uK^jting on the evening of the 25th 
of January, 1890, when Senator John W. Daniel delivered before the Legis- 
lature the great speech which we have already published in full. 

In introducing Senator Daniel on that occasion, the Speaker of the House 
of Delegates, Hon, R. H. Cardwell, of Hanover, said : 

"It is the pleasing part of my duties to welcome you on this occasion — 
especially pleasing because the presence of this magnificent audience demon- 
strates that when the present General Assembly of Virginia invited one of 
her favorite sons and her most gifted orator to deliver in this, the capitol 
city of the late Confederate States of America, an oration on the life and 
character of the lamented Jefferson Davis, they but voiced the wishe^of the 
people whom they have the honor to represent. In 1865, near the close 
of the Confederacy's short life, the General Assembly of Virginia r.ddressed 
an open letter to President Davis, in which it declared 'its desire in this 
critical period of affairs, by such suggestions as occur to them and l)y the 



ITIS SICITNESS A XD DEA TIL 595 

dedication, if need be, of the entire resources of the Commonwealth to the 
common cause, to strengthen our hands and to give success to our struggle 
for liberty and independence.' 

"In reply President Davis said: ' Your assurance is to me a source of the 
highest gratification , and while conveying to you my thanks for theespres- 
sion of the confidence of the General Assembly in my sincere devotion to 
my country and its sacred cause, I must beg permission in return to bear 
witness to the uncalculating, unhesitating spirit with which Virginia has, 
from the moment when she first drew the sword, consecrated the blood of 
her children and all her material resources to the achievement of the object 
of our struggle.' 

" Our ' sacred cause ' was lost, and after long years of vicarious suff'ering, 
through all of which he was true to us and to our dead, our chieftain has 
passed away ; but the love for the principles for which we contended, and 
the memory of him who contributed so much to make our record in that 
struggle glorious, will live forever in the hearts of all true men and women 
throughout our Southland. It is oui purpose on this occasion to review the 
brilliant life and spotless character of Mr. Davis, and in selecting as the 
orator that fearless son of Virginia whose eloquent words as enduring as 
marble, have held up for review by coming generations the life and charac- 
ter of other of our great leaders who have 'crossed over the river,' we again 
have your approval, and his name is so indelibly written in our affections 
that your reception of him here to-night will further demonstrate that it is 
a needless task for me more formally to introduce to a Virginia audienco 
John W. Daniel." 

But, as we have said, the tributes of other cities and towns of Virginia 
were as warm and hearty as those of Richmond. 

In Norfolk and Portsmouth, the Pickett-Buchanan Camp of Confederate 
Veterans, and Stonewall Camp of Portsmouth led the way in passing suit- 
able resolutions and preparing for the observance of Memorial Day, and the 
people generally heartily united. 

The Academy of ISIusic was packed to its utmost capacity on the 12th, 
and an " overflow " meeting was held at the Y. M. C. A. Hall. Confederate 
veterans, IMexican veterans, and the local military took prominent part in 
the meeting. 

Rev. B. D. Tucker, of the Episcopal church ; Rev. Dr. Geo. D. Armstrong, 
of the Presbyterian church ; Rev. Dr. J. J.. Burrows, of the Free-iMasori- 
Street Baptist church ; Rev. J. F. Hunter, and Rev. Father Dougherty, of 
St. Mary's Catholic church, participated in the religious services. 

Capt. Richard F. Walke read the very graceful and appropriate resolu- 
tions, which were adopted, and made a brief but eloquent speech, as did 
Col Walter H. Taylor (Gen. Lee's old A. A. G.) in seconding them. 

The orator of the day was Major Baker P. Lee, of Hampton, one of the 
most polished orators in the State, and he well sustained his high reputa- 
tion \.\ a pplendid tribute to his old chief. 



596 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Rev. Dr. Barten, who had visited and ministered to Mr. Davis when in 
prison at Fortress jMonroe, made a touching address, in which he recalled 
deeply interesting incidents of that period. 

In the meeting at Y. M, C. A. Hall Rev. Dr. Robert Gatewood, Rev. Dr. T. 
G. Jones, Rev. Mr. Minnick and Rev. Dr. Tador participated in the religi- 
ous exercises, and Rev, Dr. W. G. Starr and Judge Theo. S. Garnett were the 
eloquent speakers. 

In Portcmouih business generally was suspended, and a largo crowd assem- 
bled at the Monumental M. E. church, under the auspices of "Stonewall " 
Camp, Confederate Veterans. 

In the palpit of the church were Rev. Mr. Reed, presiding elder ; Rev. 
Dr. W. E. Edwards, Rev. Dr. A. E. Owen, Revs. F. F. Reese, G. ^y. Vv'ray, R. 
L. McMurran, J. D. Powell, Judge A. S. Yv'atts, Judge L. R. Watts, O. V. 
Smith, Major J. F. Crocker, Captain James II. Toomer, Revs. George E. 
Truett, D. V. Y>'illis, Captain W. II. ^Murdaugh, and othcro. 

Rev. Dr. Y/. E. Edwards preached the memorial sermon, which the paper 
Baid was "able and eloquent," Col. K. R. Griffin ofTered appropriate resolu- 
tions, and Judge L. R. Watts made the address. " He reviewed the life of 
President Davis, and paid a glowing tribute to his superb valor as a soldier, 
his W'orth as a citizen, and his wisdom as a statesman and chief magistrate. 
Pie sjioke of his loyalty to the South andconstitutionalliberty, his splendid 
courage in the eventful four years' struggle, and his sublime fortitude in 
defeat and adversity. In concluding, he alluded eloquently to the lofty 
Christian character of President Davis amid the painful iinprisonmont and 
Buffering that followed for two j'ears after the war." 

In Petersburg — battle-scarred, historic, old Putersburg — "Memorial Day" 
was observed liy the general suspension of all business, the parade of A. P. 
Hill Camp of Confederate Veterans and the military, and a monster mass- 
meeting at the Opera House, presided over by IMayor Collier. 

After a fervent and appropriate prayer by Rev. J. M. Pilcher, chaplain of 
A. P. Hill Camp, Capt. W. Gordon IMcCabe prefaced the reading of the fol- 
lowing resolutions with a brief speech, which was singularly chaste, appro- 
priate and eloquent. It is evident, also, that the resolution;? were drawn by 
hh graceful pen and soldier's ardor. 

" Whereas the A. P. Hill Camp, Confederate Veterans, of Petersburg, Vir- 
ginia, has heard with profound sorrow of the death of the Hon. JefTorson 
Davis, late President of the Confederate States of America, therefore, be it 

''Resolved, First, That in the death of this illustrious man, the whole 
South mourns the loss of a dauntless leader, whose fame must be forever 
associated with the heroic achievements of a people battling for hearth and 
home and c-ountry — a man, who, in victory and disaster alike, bore himself 
with such noble equanimity, such serene constancy, such single minded devo- 
tion to duty, as will forever enshrine his name among tlie great champions 
of freedom. 



HIS SIC K2^ESS A ND DEA IH. 597 

" For more than a quarter of a century every calumny that brutal malig- 
nity could invent and envenomed passion proclaim, has been hurled against 
him ; yet steadfast in the consciousness of exalted principle, upheld by an 
unwaverina: conviction of the righteousness of the cause, to which he dedi- 
cated both heart and brain, and which to the last, was to him and to mil- 
lions of }iis countrymen, 'strong with the strength of truth and immortal 
with the immortality of riglit,' he met with quiet dignity and intrepid front 
the storm of obloquy, with which sectional hateand coarse fanaticism vainly 
sought to beat down and crush the 'dauntless temper of his mind.' It was 
his lot to be tried in great events, and in the many grave trusts confided to 
his wisdom, skill and valor, lie was equal to the trial. In council, in debate, 
on field of battle, he over ' stood four-square to all the winds that blew,' and 
when this generation shall have passed away, and the motives and convic- 
tions of men shall be apprehended without passion, when a true perspective 
of the great struggle in which he was our chosen leader shall be attained, 
lliereshall shine out in tiie broad light ot that heroic time no nobler figure 
than that of Jefferson Davis. 

" For the people wliom ho loved, he suffered cruel torments, yet he even 
counted it a glory and no shame, and the vigor of his soul, disdaining the 
weakness of his body, bore him triam{>hant through the ignominies that 
were heaped upon him. 

" Resolved, Second, Tliat we honor his memory as that of a man, who in 
private life ever ' bore without reproach the grand old name of gentleman' ; 
that we revere him as a statesman, ' who never sold the truth to serve the 
hour'; as a soldier, who even counted life itself a worthless thing when free- 
dom was i;t stake , as a patriot, 

'"Whose eighty winters freeze with one rebalcc. 
All great self-seekers trampling on the Right.' 

"Our love for him is, in truth, rooted in proud memories, of which neither 
we nor our children after us need ever bo ashamed. 

'' Resolved 1 hird, That in token of our profound respect for his memory, 
our merchants and others are hereby asked to close their places of business 
during the hour of the funeral, and that the pastors of our city be requested 
to cause the bells of their respective churches to be tolled 81 times, one 
stroke for each year of the dead hero's life. 

"Resolved Fourth, That this Camp attend in a body the memorial services 
on that day to be held in the Academy of IVIusic. 

" Resolved Fifth, That these resolutions be spread upon the minute.? of the 
Camp, and that a copy be forwarded to the widow and children. 

" Resolved, Sixth, That we respectfully request the family to allow his 
remain! to be buried in Richmond, the capitol of the late Confederacy. 

"W. Gordon McCabe, Chairman. 
"John Herbert Claiborne, 
"Charles F. Collier." 



598 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Then followed addresses of rare appropriateness, earnestness, and feeling, 
by Rev. Dr. J. W. Roseboro, of the Tabb-strect Presbyterian Church; Rev. 
J. W. Goodwin, of St. John's Episcopal Church; Rev. R. R. Acree, of the 
First Baptist Church, and Rev. J. F. Twitty, of the Methodist Church. The 
exercises were interspersed with appropriate hymns and prayers, and it is a 
fact worth mentioning that all of these memorial services have been per- 
vaded by a deeply devotional spirit. 

As the towns of Virginia generally have united in asking Mrs. Davis to 
allow Richmond to receive and care for the precious dust, it may be well for 
us to give here the following letter from Mrs. Davis to the Mayor of Rich- 
mond : 

" If gratitude for the manner in which the people of Richmond sustained 
him during the war, his affection for her citizens and pride in the calm for- 
titude of her men and women, imder crushing defeat, were to be the moving 
cause only, I might lay him there unquestioned; but the State of his birth, 
Kentucky; the State of his adoption, which showered every honor upon 
him within her gift, Mississippi ; the State where the Confederacy first 
unfurled her flag, Alabama ; the State in which his parents spent their early 
life and where his father was born, and where my husband has received 
many honors, Georgia; the State in which we found friends and home, and 
where our dead repose, Tennessee; and last, but not least, the State which 
now gives him sepulture, amidst the tears and plaudits of her people, Loui- 
siana — all these have put forth claims so strong that I cannot choose among 
them, and have decided to wait, perhaps, a year befoFC making a selection. 
To rest in the same soil with your immortal heroes. General Robert E. Lee 
and Stonewall Jackson, is a privilege fully appreciated, and I would be the 
last to undervalue the honor, but when the final decision must be made I 
cannot be unmindful of the rights of those who have done mo the honor to 
claim the custody of my dead, and beg you to have patience with me for a 
season." 

In Lexington the exercises were of very peculiar interest. The exercises 
at the Virginia Military Institute and "Washington and Lee University were 
suspended, business houses were closed, and the people who have the high 
privilege and honor of guarding the dust of Lee and Jackson came together 
en masse to honor their great chief, whom therj, when living, so delighted to 
honor. 

Hon. J. Randolph Tucker was the orator of the occasion, and made a 
speech of great ability and power which we regret that we cannot give 
in full. 

He closed as follows : 

" Our Confederacy sank in sorrow, but not in shame. Dark and gloomy 
clouds gathered in heavy folds around its sitting, but they did not— they 
could not — blacken it ! It lit them into effulgence with its own transcendent 
glory. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TJT. 599 

" Jefferson Davis deserves our reverence because he has stood for a quarter 
of a century in our i)lace. He endured a cruel captivity f r two years, and 
for the residue of that time has been the vicarious victim of obloquy and 
reproach due to us all, and heaped upon him alone by the press and people 
oftheNorth. His fortitude and devotion to truth never failed. Hecndured 
not in silence, but with a protest which history has recorded, and will pre- 
serve as an emphatic vindication of the Confederacy which had perished, 
from malign aspersions on the motives of its friends, on the origin and 
causes of its formation, and on the purposes of justice and liberty, which 
inspired those who died in its defence, or who survived to illustrate its prin- 
ciples in doing the duties public and private which God in his providence 
assigned then^to perform. He died a citizen of Mississippi and of the 
United States, and under disability to hold office under the government of 
the United States. Ho desired no i)lacc ; why should he? He had filled 
Ids place in the temple of fame and in the domain of history. In personal 
dignity, and in Ihe peace of Gotl ho lived and died. What artificial disabil- 
ity could taint his real nature^ Why seek to remove it? He had made an 
heroic and honest effort to give freedom and independence to the South and 
had failed. God's will be done ! He chose the sacred retirement of home, 
its charms of family and friends, of calm and philosophical reflection and 
: tudy, and waited with firm reliance on divine goodness for the last sum- 
mons, which comes to him who hag humbly, but bravely, conscientiously, 
and with undaunted courage and patience done his duty, as he saw it, to 
truth, to his country, and to God! 

' Whether on cross uplifted hi:;h, 

Or in the battle's van ; 
The fittest place for man to die, 

It where he dies for man !' 
"Virginia! Rockbridge! Lexington! ever keeping guard over the holy 
dust of Lee and Jackson, turn aside to-day with millions of your country- 
men, with mournful reverence and tender hearts, to twine a wreath of mar- 
lial glory and weave a chaplet of civic fame to rest upon the tomb cf Jeffer- 
son Davis ! In a peculiar sense, the fate of our Confederacy is recalled 
to-day. On its grave — finally closed this hour — will be inscribed in imjjer- 
ishable characters the immortal name of the martial civilian who was its 
first, its only President. We plant flowers about it and water them with 
our tears, not hoping fur, or as emblems of its anticipated resurrection, but 
to embalm it in our fragrant memories and in our most precious affections. 
And then, turning from the ashes of our dead past to the active duty dic- 
tated by the example and counsels of our departed leaders, Albert Sidney 
Johnston, Stonewall Jackson, liobert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, we will 
labor with a fidelity wrought by the stern but noble discipline of our past 
experience, for the maintenance of the constitutional liberty they imperilled 
their lives to save, and for the promotion of the true prosperity, jirogress 
and glory of our common country." 



603 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

In Danville " Cabell-Graves Camp " Confederate Veterans, the aulhorities, 
the ministers of all denominations, and the citizens generally of Dar.ville 
and North Danville united in a crowded mass-meeting at the Academy of 
Music, where there were earnest, appropriate and effective speeches by 
Rev. Dr. P. A. Peterson, of the Methodist Church; Col. E. B. Withers, 
Judge Berryman Green, Hon. George C. Cabell, and Bev. T. B. Thames, of 
the First Baptist Church. 

But if we continue even these brief details, we will fi'.I the volume with 
Virginia's tribute, and leave no room for the loving offerings of other States. 
We can, therefore, barely mention other points. 

At Frederichiburg Maury Camp and the citizens generally fittingly observed 
the day. 

At historic old Williamsburg ihere were appropriate services and addresses 
by Rev. Dr. L. B. Wharton, C. P. Armistead, Esq., and Hon. Lyon G. Tyler 
(son of the late President John Tyler), the president of old William and 
Mary College. 

At Franldhi there were united services, a large crowd, and addresses by 
Rev. ]M. L. Hurley, Capt. L. H. Webb, and others. 

At Leesburg and at SulTolk there was proper observance of the day. 

In Charlottesville the Confederate Veterans and local military joined the 
citizens generally in a meeting, at which Rev. Dr. L. Hanckle, rector of the 
Episcopal Church, made a notable address, which w'e regret that we cannot 
print in full. 

We condense the following from special telegrams to the Richmond Dis' 
patch. At all the points named the ceremonies were solemn, impressive, 
and appropriate : 

At the Pulaski meeting eloquent addressee were delivered by Judge R.M. 
Brown, Hon. J. Early IMooro, and William M. Boykin, and resolutions 
offered by R. L. Gardner were passed. Prayer by the Rev. G. G. Snead, Oi 
the Episcopal Church. 

The Abingdon services were held in the Methodist church, all the minis- 
ters of the place participating. Addresses were made and the bells of the 
town lolled. 

The day was observed at Blackstoneby the military firing a salute andl^y 
services. 

Onancock fitly honored the dead hero by services in the churches and 
addresses. 

Memorial services at Harrisonburg were held at night. Rev. Dr. Cox and 
Rev. Mr. Johnston were the principal speakers. 

At Culpeper the services were held in the Episcopal Churt-h. The mili- 
tary attended in a body, and afterwards fired a salute on tfie church green. 
There were other features, including addresses. 

Touching addresses were delivered at Eastville by Dr. William A. Thomas, 
late surgeon in the Confederate army, and Rev. George W. Scott, who was a 
chaplain in the Confcder.ite army. Business was suspended. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA Til 



GOl 



One of the most eloquent addresses of the occasion was delivered at Farm- 
ville by Rev. W. E. Evans, of the Methodist Church. The meeting — an 
immense one — was held in the Baptist church. 

Lynchburg's service was at night and in the Opcra-IIouse, Dr. John E. 
Edwards being the principal speaker. The veterans of the "Lost Cause" 
and the luilitary of the city were in attendance with colors draped in laourn- 
ing. AtnoDU the bells were tolled for an hour. 




House in which the First Confederate Cabinet was held. 

Orange. — Memorial services were held here to-day at St. Thomas l']nisco- 
pal Church. The bells were tolled at the churches and all the business 
houses closed from 1 1 to 3 o'clock. 

At Alexandria among the speakers were Gen. AV. II. F. Lee, Senator John 
W, Daniel, and Senator John H. Reagan. 

Berryville, Warrenton, Abingdon, Winchester, Staunton, University of 
Virginia, Randolph-Macon College^ Ilampden-Sidnej' College", Ileathsville, 
Westmoreland, Richmond, Lancaster, New Kent, and other counties — in 
fact, tli6 whole State, from Alleghany to Chesapeake, from the Potomac to 
the North Carolina line — paid appropriate tributes to the great leader, whom 
the people honored and loved. 

al.\bama's tribute. 



No State M-as more devoted to Mr. Davis than the one which had the first 
capitoi of the Confederacy, and nowhere have the tributes to his memory 
b.>en warmer or more sincere. 



602 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

The MoMgomerrj Advertiser of Doceaiber 7th thus speaks of the mourning 
of the old capitol of the Confederacy when the news came of the death of 
one who had come among them first as President of the new-born Con- 
federacy, and whom they had received in 1886 with demonstrations s-uch as 
the proudest conqu-ror might liave envied: 

"Montgomery was in mourning yesterday for the dead cliieftain of the 
Lost Cause. 

" The announcement of the death of ex-President Jefferson Davis l)rought 
a great weight (.f sorrow to the liearts of the peoi)U', and words of sadness 
and expressions of deepest grief fell from every lip. 

"The news of late with regard to Mr. Davis's condition had been rather 
( ncouraging, and the people had been led to think and hope that he might 
■weather the storm and regain his wonted health and s'.rength. Slill, the 
fact that his health had been quite feeble for several years, and bore the 
burden of more than eighty years, forced upon the minds of his mostardent 
admirers and devoted friends the painful conclusion that he was jiassing 
into the valley of the shadow of death ; and the news of his death, fraught 
with sadness though it was, did not come ai a surprise to the public. 

"The State house was draped in mourning, and the flag on the dome 
placed at half mast yesterday morning, and all the departments at tiie Capi- 
tol were closed for the day. The flag on the city building was also i)laced at 
half mast by order of the Mayor. A number of stores were draped with the 
sable emblems of mourning. The State house was still and deserted, and 
stood like a moimment to the memory of the statesman who had twice 
stood under its stivtely columns and received the plaudits of his people — 
where he was chosen chief of the young old nation, whose fate was sealed 
in the death throes of Appomattox, and where he stood after a lapse of 
twenty-five years and said: ' Your demonstration now exceeds that which 
welcomed me then. I felt that I was coming homa— coming to the land 
where liberty dies not and heroic sentiments will live forever. It takes a 
great people to do th is.' 

"Again the beloved name of Jefferson Davis was passed from tongue to 
tongue, until the people talked of little else. They talked of his life with 
his family when they resided in Montgomery during the early period of the 
war, and of his triumphal visit to this city in the spring of 1886, when he 
came to jjarticipate in the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone of the Con- 
federate monument on Capitol Hill. He came with all the pomp and cere- 
mony of a conqueror to enter the gates of a great city and the hearts of a 
great people. He came at the earnest solicitude and frequent requests of 
friends who desired tliat the people should have an opportunity of demon- 
strating to him and the world the great love and respect and reverence they 
felt for him. He came and was received with open arms and enthusiasm, 
and greeted with the greatest demonstration of popular devotion ever 
accorded to mortal man on Southern soil." 



HIS SICKNESS A ND DBA TH. 603 

Governor Seay issued his proclamatioii,andtlietelegramg were sent which 
we have already published ; the Confederate Veterans held a meeting, at 
which there were appropriate resolutions and speeches by ex-Governor 
Thomas H. Watts and others, and arrangements were made for the large 
attendance at the funeral from Alabama which we noted in our account of 
the funeral obsequies. 

Rev. Dr M. B. Wharton, pastor First Baptist Cliurch voiced the general 
feeling in the following poem : 

THE DEATH OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. 
By M. B. Wharton. 

Our mighty chieftain breathes no more, 

His noble form now cold and still, 
Has fallen at last, life's conflict o'er, 

Obedient to his Maker's will. 
As die the brave and true, he dies; 

He rests upon a stainless shield, 
The Great Commander of the skies 

Alone could call him from the field. 

He's gone to that blest world on high. 

Where slanders never vex the soul, 
And fitting 'tis his bones should lie. 

Far, far removed from prowling ghoul; 
Among his friends should be his tomb, 

Upon old ocean's south most verge. 
Where beauteous flowers perennial bloom 

And wild waves chant his funeral dirge. 

And he will live on history's page. 

While cycling years shall onward move, 
As victim once of senseless rage, 

Now idol of his peoples love ; 
When hate is buried in the dust, 

When party strife shall break its spear. 
When truth is free, and men are just, 

Then will his epitaph appear. 

Mayor Graham issued the following proclamation : 

"Mayor's Office, 
" Montgomery, Ala., December 7, 1889. 
"The illustrious Southerner has passed away. Here he was called and 
consecrated to the service of the Southern people, and here was the birth- 
place of the Confederate States. It is peculiarly fitting, therefore, that 
the people of this city, who honored and cherished and sustained him to 
the last, should pay appropriate honor to his memory. 



604 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

'' Now, therefore, I, Edward A. Graham, mayor of the city of ]Montj;;om- 
ery, earnestly recommend the people to close their respective places of busi- 
ness during the hour appointed for the funeral of ex-President Davis, and 
tliat the pastors of the several churches cause their bells to be tolled at that 
hour, and that memorial exercises be held at the Courthouse at that time. 

"Edward A. Grahasi, Mayor." 

Francis B. Lloyd ("Rufus Sanders"), in the Montgomery Advertiser, said : 

"lie was the highest and purest type of Southern manhood — 'the noblest 
Roman of them all.' He was a soldier and a statesman, a patriot and a gen- 
tleman. On the battle-field, in the halls of Congress, and as the leader of 
the brave young nation that rose from the cradle at Montgomery and found 
a grave at Appomattox — the chosen chieftain of the best and bravest army 
that ever raised a lance or mot the shock of arms on God's green earth — he 
was gentle as he was brave, and bore himself that the opposed might well 
beware of him. 

" He had been tried by the fires of three wars, an 1 never found wanting. 
Through all the years of strife, and tumult, and struggle he was true to hi.^ 
high sense of duty, to honor and the right, as the needle to the pole. It 
had been given to him many times to stand face to flic3 with death and still 
live. Winter was on his head with the weight of many years and many 
griefs for a crown of glory, and in his heart was the burden of many wrongs 
and many sorrows. But never from his lips had a weak word fallen, nor in 
his eye stood a childish tear." 

Memorial Day was suitably observed in Montgomery by the closing of 
places of business, the draping of the houses, firing of minute guns, tolling 
of bells, and services in the churches. 

But as the city had sent to New Orleans her officials, her military, and 
many of her distinguished citizens, the great memorial meeting was post- 
poned until the night of December 19th. 

The Montgomery Advertiser had the following editorial in its issue of 
December 12th : 

" When the mortal remains of Jefferson Davis were consigned to the 
dreamless couch of the dead at New Orleans on yesterday, the curtain went 
down on the scene that removes from the stage of life one of the strongest 
and loftiest characters of modern times. 

" It was a Southern funeral, and over the bier of the dead great man the 
people of the South mingled their prayers and tears in universal homage 
to the memory of their old chieftain. Public dignitaries and distinguished 
representatives and plain, private citizens were there from every Southern 
State to look for the last time upon the calm, brave features of the dead 
soldier, patriot and statesman, and follow the still but knightly form to the 
silent halls of death. 

"It is indeed peculiarly gratifying to all loyal and right thinking people 
to know that the people of the South have had the manliness, the honor 



Ills SICKNESS AND DEATH. 603 

and the courage to show to all the world that they have not sought to lay 
all the burden of wrongs and sorrows on the big, brave heart of the chief- 
^lin of the Lost Cause, but gladly and proudly shared the brunt and burden 
with him, and loved him and honored hiir.. through all and to the last. The 
men and women of the South can afford to scorn and forget the cruel and 
bitter things that have been written and said of him by those who are 
craven and cowardly enough to stab the dead and desecrate the grave. His 
life and character and career belong to history. His deeils of honor and 
courage and devotion to his people are ' not engraved on tablets of stone ; 
but on the fleshly tablets of the heart.' " 

On the evening of December 19th a very large audience assembled at the 
Theatre. The meeting was presided over by Gen. J. T. Holtzclaw, and appro- 
priate resolutions 'Were a<lopted, the concluding one of which reads: 

"That the people of Alabama respectfully, but most earnestly, request and 
insist that his mortal remains be buried beneath the monument erected to 
the memory of Alabama's Confederate heroes— the corner-stone of which 
he laid — on Capitol Hill, forever memorable as the birthplace of the Con- 
federate States of America." 

Excellent speeches were made by Gen. HoUzclaw, Gov. T. H. Watts, Gen, 
John W. A. Sanders, Gen. George P. Harrison, of Opelika, and Capt. L. H, 
Screws. 

As Attornej'-General of tlie Confederacy for eighteen months, and an inti- 
mate friend of Mr. Davis, the speech of Governor Watts was one of especial 
interest, and we regret that we cannot fulfill our purpose of giving it in full, 

Ee.'erring to his relations to Mr. Davis, Governor Watts said : 

" Before I entered his Cabinet I knew and admired him as a statesman 
and hero. When I left his Cabinet I loved him as a man." 

He then gave an interesting epitome of Mr. Davis's life, and an able and 
unanswerable argument to show that he was not a "traitor," He recalled 
several interesting anecdotes and personal reminiscences, and then said : 

"3Ir. Davis was a man of strong convictions, and clear judgment, deliber- 
ate in the formation of his conclusions, and those convictions, when formed, 
were rarely changed. He was ardent in his attachments, and ardent in his 
opposition to all he believed to be wrong. He was a jwsUive. There was 
no double-dealings or insincerity about him. He wa? a man amongst men. 
He was not the cruel and hard-hearted man his enemies paint him. He 
was as brave as a lion, yet as gentle, as kind-hearted and tender as a woman, 

"One incident will illustrate his high sense of justice and his kindness of 
heart. Wliile I was a member of his Cabinet, McNeil (I believe that was his 
name), a commander of the United States forces in ^Missouri, tof)k on ©ne 
occasion nine prisoners from the Confederates, and with brutal disregard of 
the laws of civilized warfare, hung them until they were dead — dead — dead. 
The newspapers and public speakers in the South became clamorous for- 
retaliation in kind. So pressing became the clamor that Mr. Davis called a 



606 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

meeting of his Cabinet to consider wliat should be done. Several members 
of his Cabinet favored retaliation in kind, and that prisoners of war then 
in Libby prison should be taken out and hanged. I never shall forget the 
Janguage of Mr. Davis— 'If I could get McNeil, I would hang him as high 
as Haman; but I have not the heart to take these innocent soldiers, taken 
prisoners in honorable warfare, and hang them like convicted criminals. I 
will settle this matter, gentlemen of the Cabinet, by leaving it to the com- 
manders in the army. If they say hang — they are likely to suffer most by 
the policy — I will forego my individual views.' This was the last of retalia- 
ting by hanging prisoners of war. 

'* Mr. Davis was not only a man of great qualities as a stateman and a sol- 
dier, but he was an orator of consummate skill, and of wonderful power over 
men. I have heard Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John C* Calhoun, Henry 
A. Wise and William L. Yancey, and I say that I never heard any man, 
whose gallant personal presence, resonant voice, and earnest and eloquent 
utterances wielded more magnetic power over legislative assemblies and 
people, than Jefferson Davis. 

" It is said by speakers and the press of the North, that he never acquiesced 
in the results of the war — that he lived and died with venom on his tongue 
towards the Northern people. There never tvas a greater mistake. He felt, it 
is true, that he had done nothing for which to ask pardon of the United 
.States. He stood by his convictions and by his devotion to the South until 
his dying hour. But he left no spot on his character as a Southern Chris- 
tian gentleman. When he felt that the cause of the Confederacy had 
become hopele^ssly defeated, he advised the people of the Southern States 
to bow to the inevitable — give obedience to the 'powers that be' — make 
good citizens, and preserve, as best they could within the Union, the great 
landmarks of liberty embodied in tlie Constitution of the United States. 

" About three years since, while addressing his fellow-citizens at Meridien, 
Miss., some one in the audience asked, if the Soutl) would ever again 
attempt to secede? He at once replied, 'No! No! No! Every Southern 
State has in its Constitution a declaration that the right to secede has been 
settled against the South by the arbitrament of the sword. Let the South 
build up the South. Be obedient and good citizens. And, if Secession ever 
comes again, let it come from the North.' 

"I heard him on Capitol Hill in April, 18SG, when he laid the foundation 
stone of our Confederate monument. He there uttered not a word to which 
any honest man North or South could have objected. Then, if he ever 
desired to utter a sentiment objectionable to the most ultra- partisan of the 
North, he had the opportunity. The whole heart of Alabama, and the 
whole Southern people in their sympathies, came out to meet him. The 
grandest ovation ever paid to living man was then, here in this city, paid to 
Jefferson Davis. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 607 

"I heard him at Macon, Ga., in October, ISST, utter a scnfiinent, in 
response to an address by the leader of a company Cbuiposed of the sons of 
Confederate soldiers, who presented him with a badge, which showed his 
pride in the progress and development of the South since the end of the 
war. He said : ' My young friends, I am glad to hear you say there is no 
New South. There is no New South ! No, it is the Old South rehabilitated 
and revivified by the energy and virtues of Southern men.'" 

lie then gave a very vivid description of the funeral obsequies in New 
Orleans, closing his speech, which elicited frequent applause, as follows: 

"As the funeral cortege passed along the crowded streets of New Orleans, 
from the City Hall, by the statue of Robert E. Lee, to Metaire Cemetery, 
two hundred thousand people, with sorrowful faces, witnessed its slow and 
solemn movement. Every public btiilding, and, it seemed to me, every pri- 
vate house in the city, was draped in the habiliments of the deepest sorrow. 
The procession was three miles long, and as it marched minute guns were fired 
and martiid music lent its mournful strains to solemnify the grand occasion, 

"Without undertaking to describe further the solemn scene — my power? 
are wholly inadequate to do it justice — there were two things which 
impressed me above all others. As the procession passed the equestrian 
statue of Albert Sydney Johnston every beholder was struck with its appear- 
ance. It was draped in mourning from the top to the bottom. I could not 
repress the emotion which swelled my heart. I felt that the spirit of the 
dead hero had left its mansion in the skies and had come down to earth to 
pny sorrowful homa"gc to its dead friend. 

" Just as tlie casket was about to be placed in the vault under the statue of 
Stonewall Jackson — after all the ceremonies Avcre concluded — and just as 
the rays of the setting sun were gilding the solemn scene with their mellow 
lustre, twenty-four young choristers of the Episcopal Church, clad in uni- 
form, led by the clarionet's melodious tones, sang the old familiar song, 
* Rock of Ages, Cleft for Mc.' The whole concourse of people, with tear^^ 
trickling down each face, joined in the song. 

"As I stood there, with the houses of the dead like a citj' of marble 
palaces, I folt proud of Alabama ; I felt proud of the South ; I felt proud of 
the United States. I felt prousl that I was an Alabamian ; proud that I was 
a Southern man; proud that I was a citizen of the United States; and, if 
possible, I felt prouder still that I was the friend of Jefferson Davis and a 
humble follower of the ' Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me,' and for all mankind," 

And now we can only mention that appropriate and feeling memorial 
services were held, with resolutions, speeches, &c., all over the State. 

Mobile, Birmingliam, Eufaula, iSelma, Marion, Greenville, Brewton, Tus- 
caloosa, Ozark, Troy, Tuskcgee, Union Springs, Auburn, Anniston, Talladega, 
Sheffield, Camden, Sumter county, Russell county, Batesville, Bibb county, 
and many other places vied with each other in paying loving tribute to our dead 
Piesident, and Alabama showed that she honored him now, as she had 
bravely followed him in the "days which tricvl men's souls," 



608- THE DA VIS' MUZIOllIAL VOL UMK 

gkougia's tributk. 

The first hunonncement of the death of Mr. Davis made to Atlanta and 
Georgia, was the following editorial in the Constitution, which was wi'itten at 
2:30 o'clock in the morning by the gifted and lamented Henry W. Grady, 
Avho rose from his bed in order that his graceful jicn might thus record the 
l^romptings of his loving heart: 

"At 12:45 o'clock this morning a great heart ceased to beat — a stainless life 
M';i3 closed I 

" JcfTersou Davis, first and last President of the Southern Confederacy, is 
dead I As we write these words, a thousand miles away, the body of the 
puissant chieftain, from which the breath has scarcely parted, lies mute and 
motionless beneath the touch of reverential hands, while in the regions of 
the blest the great soul, Aveary of the fretting hindrances of the flesh, greets 
friends and comrades gone before! 

"And now has passed away the last of the mighty leaders of the Lost 
Cause! Cobb, Stephens, the kingly Toombs, and the steadfast Hill; Yan- 
cey, the impetuous gentleman ; Lee, the paladin of battle, and Jackson, who 
ruled its storm — gone — all gone! Gone to the great tribunal before which 
all things are judged, and to Him who searcheth all hearts and measureth 
to victor and beaten in infinite mercy and infinite justice. Closed the drama 
amid which they fouglit or plead as heroes — sheathed the sword, furled the 
banner, sealed the record — and their dear names and fame, but a memory 
and a heritage to their people ! With Him who doeth all things well they 
rest at last 1 

"Jefferson Davis will be mourned in millions of hearts this day. Govern- 
mt-nt will not render to him the pomp and circumstance of a great death; 
but his people will give to him a tribute of love aird tears surpassing all 
that government could do, and honoring his memory as earthly parade 
could not do! He is our dead! And from Maryland to Texas, wherever in 
other States or in other lands his people may have wandered — wherever 
dauntless courage is or stainless honor has made friends — wherever they who 
have sufTered are loved, and superb fortitude may touch the heart or dim 
the eye — there Jefferson Davis— God bless his name as we write it — will be 
honored and mourned to-day! If amid the winds of the new morning into 
which his soul has entered the grief of this world may come, he will be 
content to know that his people love him, and loving, mourn! Greater 
honor than is his this people hath given, and can give no more ! " 

Another gifted writer on the Constitution staff wrote, at the same hour, the 
following: 

" ' Davis is dead I ' the message read ; 
The night was waning fast; 
On lightning wings the sentence sped ; 
A storm of pent-up tears unshed 
Came gushmg forth at lust ! 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TS. 6G9 

" ' Davis is dead ! ' the message read ; 

"We thought of days gone by, 
And him whose dauntless courage fed 
The Altar fires when hope had fled, 

And darkness veiled the sky! 

" ' Davis is dead ! ' the message read • 
God keep his noble name! 
The deeds of those who fought and bled 
For Dixie are eternal wed 
With his undying fame ! 

" ' Davis is dead ! ' the message read ; 
Last of a princely train ; 
Though lowly lies his crownless head, 
His memory lives, and in his stead 
No other king shall reign! 

•' — Montgomery M. Folsom. 
"2:30 A. M., December 6." 
Governor John B. Gordon issued the following proclamation: 

"State of Georgia, Executive Department, 

" Atlanta, Ga., December 6, 1889. 
" By J. B. Gordon, Governor : 

"Jefferson Davis is dead I He will be buried on Wednesday, the 11th 
instant, at noon. The South mourns her hero. His memory will be en- 
shrined in the hearts of her children, and the spotless record of his long 
and eventful career will be cherished by them to the remotest generation, as 
their most valued heritage and noblest inspiration. His compatriots who 
loved and honored him as the vicarious sufferer for the action of his people, 
will confidently confide his character and career to the judgment of impai- 
tial history. 

"To mark our respect for the illustrious dead, and to furnish occasion for 
an expression of our admiration and love, I, J. B. Gordon, governor of 
Georgia, do issue this my proclamation, inviting the people of the different 
communities of this State to assemble together at the hour of Mr. Davis's 
funeral at 12 M., Wednesday, the 11th instant, and unite in suitable and 
solemn memorial services. 

'• Given under my hand and the seal of the executive department, at 
Atlanta, this 6th day of December, 1889. 

"J. B. Gordon, Governor^ 

Governor Gordon also telegraphed to the other governors of the old Con- 
federate States, suggesting that they also issue proclamations, arranging for 
memorial services the daj' of the funeral, and as commander of the United 
Confederate Veterans, he issued an order for them to provide for collections 
for the benefit of the family, at all of the memorial services. 



610 THE DAVIS MFMORIAL VOLUME. 

Mayor Glenn issued the following: 

"Mayoe's Office, 

"Decemfcer 6, 1889. 
' In respect to the memory of Jefferson Davis, the first and only President 
of the Confederate States, and who carries to the grave the esteem and love 
fo the Southern people, it is ordered that the public buildings of the city 
be draped in mourning for thirty days, and that the city offices be closed 
from eleven o'clock on the day of his funeral. 

"John T. Glenn, Mayor." 

The Confederate Veterans packed their hall on the night of December 
Cth, in response to the following call : 

" Headquaktebs Confederate Veterans' Association, Fulton County, 

" Atlanta, Ga., December 6, 1889. 

" The president of the confederacy, the knightliest and mostchivalric, the 
truest and most faithful and amid the suffering of an unexampled oppression, 
the most patient son of the South, and an honorary member of this asso- 
ciation, has gently and peacefully passed away to that better and brighter 
world where ' war shall be no more ; ' neither sorrow, nor tears, nor death. 
It is fitting that proper action should be taken in relation to this, the saddest 
event in our history, and I therefore, call a meeting of the association at 7:30 
o'clock this evening, at Confederate hall, to provide therefor and in 
compliance with the order of John B. Gordon, general commanding the 
United Confederate Veterans, to arrange for suitable memorial exercises and 
raise a fund for the widow and daughter of Mr. Davis, at the hour to be 
appointed for his funeral. 

"W.L. Calhoun, 
"President and Commander." 

Judge Calhoun^ in calling the meeting to order, paid a brief but eloquent 
tri})ute to our great commander. 

The committee presented the following resolutions which were adopted 
by a unanimous and enthusiastic vote — after earnest and enthusiastically 
applauded speeches by Dr. J. William Jones, Capt. Evan P. Howell, and Hon. 
A. H. Cox. 

"AVhereas we have heard with profound sorrow of the death in New 
Orleans, at 12:45 this morning, of President Jefferson Davis — our grand old 
chief, our peerless leader — and deem it proper to put on record some expres- 
sion ot our feelings, some poor tribute to his worth ; therefore, 

" Resolved by the Fulton County Confederate Veterans, 1 . That, with grateful 
hearts to Almighty God, we acknowledge Plis goodness in sparing to us so 
long this grand old man that he might prove that human virtue can be equal 
to human calamity — that he might show himself even grander in peace than 
in war— and that he might illustrate in the eveningof his life those beauties 
ot character which adorn the Christian gentleman. 



SIS SICKNUS3 AND DEATH. 611 

"2. That while we bow with humble submission to this decree of a loving 
Father, who has called His servant to 'come up higher' and recognize the 
good Providence by which the toiling workman has 'ceased from his labors' 
and 'entered into his rest,' and the soldier, after his weary march, Jaasgone 
into bivouac, we deem it not wrong to mourn that our leader, father, 
friend, will appear among us no more on earth, and to mingle our tears with 
loved ones who weep that the happy circle in the home beside the gulf has 
been thus rudely brol»en. 

" 3. That leaving to others his appropriate and fitting eulogy, we desire 
here merely to put on record a brief expression of the honor in which his 
old soldiers held Jefferson Davis — the high estimate they had of him as 
statesman, soldier, patriot, and gentleman, and the love they cherished for 
him as their old commander, 

"4. That while we would not revive at this time 'bitter memories of a 
stormy past,' or uncover buried issues— while we would, on the contrary, 
'gathering around this royal corpse, proclaim perpetual truce to battle' — j^et 
we would p^'oudly point to his brave, patient life, his unswerving devotion 
to truth and duty, and his self-sacrificing patriotism, as the most conclusive 
refutation of the slanders uttered against him — and we would reply to the 
charge of 'Treason' by looking the world squarely in the face and proclaim- 
ing that that cause for which such stainless gentlemen, such incorruptible 
patriots as Sidney Johnston, and Stonewall Jackson, and Robert E. Lee, and 
Jefferson Davis lived and died cannot be treason, and their followers cannot 
be traitors. 

"5. That we tender Mrs. Davis, the noble woman who was worthy to 
share the home of this great and good man, and her daughters our pro- 
foundest sympathies. 

"6. That we heartily approve and will bear our full share in any effort to 
provide for the widow and daughter. 

" 7. That a committee be appointed by our president to attend the funeral. 

"J.William Jones, Evan P. Howell, W. W. Hulburt, George Hillyer, P. 
M. B. Young, W. L. Calhoun." 

There was read to the meeting, and received with loud applause, the fol- 
lowing poem, which Mrs. Davis made special request should be published in 
the "Memorial Volume," and concerning which we have received the same 
request from a number of friends in different States : 

OUR DEAD CHIEF. 

Come brothers Oi our Southern land — 
Members of that historic band 

Who gladly " wore the gray" — 
Come let us mourn our fallen Chief; 
Let us in sackcloth and grief, 

In sorrow, weep to-day. 



612 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

A man of wonderous gifts is gone, 
A man with kingly graces born 

A warrior, statesman — dead 
" Our President" through bloody wars— 
A martyr to a glorious cause — 

For us his heart has bled. 

He grandly lived a silent life 

Since turning from all whirl and strife. 

And bore a breaking heart. 
The target of a hundred pens, 
A flame with hate their arrow sends 

Full may a poisoned dart. 

There meets my gaze on yonder wall 
A pictured group in public hall 

In days when hearts were tried — 
A brilliant galaxy they be, 
Hill, Jackson, Stuart, knightly Lee, 

Virginia's sons — her pride. 

Our honored Chief's among the band- 
He sits, the others round him stand, 

A nobler conclave never. 
All have been called, yes, one by one, 
Leaving the grand old man alone. 

Now he has crossed the river. 

Come, brothers, gather round his bier, 
And touch it with the falling tear 

"Which wells from streaming eyes ; 
No fitter tribute can we bring 
Than loyal hearts, and souls whence spring 

Love, reaching to the skies. 

Mrs. J. IViUiam Jones. 

Atlanta, Ga., December 6th, 1889. 

This meeting of Confederate Veterans appointed committees to raise funds 
for the family, and in a few days a very handsome sum was secured. 

A meeting of citizens was held at the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce 
the next day (the 7th) to promote the same object, and also to raise a fund 
for a monument. These objects were pushed very vigorously by Mr. Henry 
W. Grady, among others, and a considerable sum was raised for each within 
a few days. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 613 

The following telegraphic correspondence explains itself: 

Col. John A. Cockrell, editor New York World, sent the following: 

" New York, December 6, 1889. 
"Henry W. Grady, Constitution: 

"Is there any likelihood of anybody in the South proposing to raise 
a fund for the benefit of the family of the late Jefferson Davis? Would the 
Constitution be likely to take the matter up, and if so what do you think of 
the propriety of having the World co-operate here in the North? 

"John A. Cockrell." 

To this telegram the following reply was sent : 

" John A. Cockrell, care World, New York, N. Y. : 

" I thank you heartily for your dispatch. Three or four times in the 
past ten years, touched by Mr. Davis's known poverty, we have started to 
make a fund for him, and once had a considerable amount subscribed with- 
out his knowledge; each time he gratefully but firmly declined, saying that 
so many widows and orphans of our soldiers, and so many disabled veterans 
themselves, were poor and in need of the necessaries of life that all gener- 
ous oflferings had best be directed to them and to their betterments. He 
has grown steadily poorer, and, I fear, leaves his family nothing. I am now 
in communication with the friends of his family, and if permitted to raise a 
fund the people of the South will spontaneously give all that is needed and 
more. But we shall advise you promptly, and any voluntary ofierings from 
the North would honor those who gave and be accepted in the South as 
evidence that the hostility of the North to a man who deserved no more of 
censure than his associates, but who went to the grave carrying the whole 
burden of responsibility, is at last allayed. 

' Henry W. Grady." 

The noble matron who entered into the spirit of her illustrious bust and — 
who persistently refused all gratuities — would not consent that l oney 
should be raised for her benefit except for the purchase of her lanes, and 
Henry Grady threw himself into the "Davis Land Fund " scheme with an 
enthusiasm which would have greatly promoted its success. But alas 1 the 
silver-tongued orator was soon silenced, the graceful pen of the great editor 
was laid aside, and the brave, noble, spirit of this incomparable young man 
was called to join the great Chieftain whom he loved and delighted to honor 
in that bright land where monuments are not needed. 

"Memorial Day" was generally observ^ed in Atlanta, and, indeed, all over 
Georgia, in the closing of the public buildings (city and State), the suspen- 
sion of business, an immense procession headed by the Confederate Vet- 
erans, and a mass-meeting at the State Capitol. An immense crowd assem- 
bled at the new and beautiful Capitol, where Judge AV. L. Calhoun presided 
and the venerable Rev. Dr. John Jones opened the meeting with a fervent 
and appropriate prayer. 



614 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

The speakers were Judge "W. L. Calhoun, Mayor Glenn, Rev. Dr. G. B. 
Strickler, Hon. A. H. Cox, and Judge Howard Van Epps— all of whose 
speeches were received with rapturous applause, and were so appropriate, in 
such tone and spirit that we had proposed publishing them in full until our 
printers warned us of our narrow space. 

Mr. Grady and his friends were on their way to Boston, where he electri- 
fied the country with his great speech on the negro problem and his elo- 
quent plea for justice to the South. They sent the following telegram, which 
was read to the meeting: 

"New York, December 11, 1889. 
" Judge W. L. Calhoun : 

"The Georgians in Nev/ York en route for Boston send you greeting 
to-day. Our hearts are with you as you do honor to the memory of our 
illustrious dead, and he will be mourned nowhere to-day more sincerely than 
by those of us who journey amid a people who were his enemies, but who 
seem to have lost their hostility in the presence of death. 

"Evan P. Howell, John A. Fitten, Henry W. Grady, George Hillyer, R.D. 
Spalding, S. M. Inman, T. D. Meador, W. A. Hemphill, W. B. Lowe, J. W. 
Rankin, J. R. Holliday." 

Atlanta gave to the "uncrowned king of his people" a grand ovation 
when he was here in 1886. She gave to the "crowned king of our South- 
land " — our dead President — the tribute of warm and loving hearts. 

But the same was true of the cities and towns generally — indeed, of all of 
the people — of Georgia. 

In Augusta the Confederate Survivors' Association, under their able and 
accomplished president (Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr.), led the way in paying 
warm and appropriate tribute to the memory of their loved and honored 
chief. 

They promptly sent Mrs. Davis the telegram we have already quoted and 
adopted the following resolutions, written by the facile pen of Col. Jones : 

" Headquarters Confederate Survh'ors' Association, 
"Augusta, Ga., December 7, 1889. 

" Whereas we have learned with the deepest regret of the demise of the 
Hon. Jefierson Davis, ex-President of the Southern Confederacy — 

" Resolved, That in his death this Association mourns the departure of the 
first and most illustrious Confederate enrolled upon its list of honorary mem- 
bers. 

"Resolved, That in the demise of Mr. Davis this nation has been deprived 
of the living presence of one who, although debarred the full privileges of 
citizenship, occupied in the esteem of all brave men a position transcending 
that which may be fairly claimed by any of his traducers, and second to 
none within the gift or contemplation of this American Confederation. 



HTS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 615 

^'Resolved, That during a long and arduous career he illustrated in a won- 
derful manner the highest qualities of the citizen, the statesman, the soldier, 
the ruler, and the patriot. 

" Resolved, That as an officer of the United States Army, as a senator in 
Congress, as Secretary of "War, as President of the Southern Confederacy, as 
a chained but undaunted captive in the casemate of Fortress Monroe, as an 
honored guest of the great and the noble beyond the seas, or as a gentle- 
man enjoying the dignified repose of his refined home at Beauvoir, in 
every station he preserved inviolate the exalted attributes of courage, of 
integrity', of intellectual and moral pre-eminence, of hospitality, of cour- 
tesj"-, and of fidelity to trust reposed. 

" Resolved, That his conduct since the conclusion of the war between the 
States, his manly defense of the aspirations and the^acts of the South during 
the Confederate struggle for independence, his tender regard for the tradi- 
tions and the honor of his people, and his unsubdued devotion to the most 
enlightened conceptions of right and duty, have challenged and will ever 
receive our admiration and gratitude. 

" Resolved, That his memory as a man, as a soldier, as a statesman, as the 
commander-in-chief of the Confederate army and navy, and as a Southern 
gentleman, is precious to us all, and will remain unclouded as the years 
roll on. 

" Resolved, That we regard with peculiar satisfaction the fact that our Con- 
federate President was permitted by a kind Providence to attain unto the 
fullest measure of human life, to spend the evening of his days in dignified 
retirement beneath the protecting shadows of-Southern oaks, within sound 
of gently moving Southern waters, and amid the loves of Southern hearts ; 
and, at the last, to render back his brave spirit to the God who gave it, sur- 
rounded by devoted friends and amid the comforts of the great metropolis 
of the South. 

" Resolved, That no token of affection can be too profuse, no mark of 
respect too emphatic, no rendition of honor too conspicuous, no funeral 
tribute too imposing for this uncrowned king of Southern hearts. 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by our secre- 
tary to the widow of the illustrious dead with every assurance of our pro- 
found and most respectful sympathy." 

On jMemorial day business was suspended, the houses were draped, min- 
ute guns were fired, there was a large procession, and an immense meeting 
at which Bishop Weed read the funeral service, and Rev. (General) C. A- 
Evans made an appropriate and fervent prayer. 

The orator of the occasion was Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr., whose graceful 
and eloquent voice has done so much to vindicate the truth of Confederate 
history and the name and fame of our leaders and people. The oration was 
worthy of the orator and the theme, and we regret that we can find room 
for only brief extracts. 



616 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

He begun by saying : 
" Ladies and gentlemen : 

'' In yielding to the solicitation of my brethren of the Confederate 
Survivors' Association to address you on this memorial occasion, I was 
appalled at the shortness of the period allotted for preparation, and at the 
magnitude of the theme suggested for our contemplation. I am painfully 
aware that under the most favorable circumstances in any attempt to re- 
mind you of the virtues and the services of the illustrious dead in whose 
honor we are assembled, everything I could say would be anticipated by 
your thoughts, and I would suffer the reproach of falling far below them. 
Nevertheless, answering the call of an association whose lightest request is 
to me a command, with all the traditions of a consecrated past thrilling 
through my veins, and cherishing an admiration most profound for the char- 
acter and acts of him who but yesterday was the noblest living embodiment of 
Confederate manhood, I respond, as best I may, to the needs of this occa- 
sion, craving your generous indulgence if I fulfill not the expectation of the 
hour. 

"When "Wilkie was in the Escurial studying those famous pictures which 
have so long attracted the notice of all lovers of art, an old Jeronymite said 
to him " I have sat daily in sight of those paintings for nearly four score 
years. During that time all who were more aged than myself have passed 
away. My contemporaries are gone. INIany younger than myself are in 
their graves; and still the figures upon those canvasses remain unchanged. 
I look at them until I sometimes think they are the realities and we but the 
shadows.' 

"The battle scenes which the heroes of the South have painted; the 
memories which Confederate valor, loyaltj^ and endurance have bequeathed ; 
the blessed recollections which the pious labors, the saintly ministrations, 
and the more than Spartan inspiration of the women of the Revolution 
have embalmed, these will dignify for all time the annals of the civilized 
world; but the actors in that memorable crisis, they — the shadows — will 
pass away. Johnston, the Bayard of the South ; Jackson, our military 
meteor, streaming upward and onward in an unbroken track of light and 
ascending to the skies in the zenith of his fame; Lee, the most stainless of 
earthly commanders, and, except in fortune, the greatest, and multitudes of 

their companion in arms have already gone 

■* 
" ' To where beyond these voices there is peace.' 

"But yesterday Jefferson Davis, the commander of them all, the most dis- 
tinguished representative of a cause which electrified the civilized world by 
the grandeur of its sacrifices, the dignity and rectitude of its aims, the nobil- 
ity of its pursuit, and the magnitude and brilliancy of the deeds performed 
in its support, entered into rest. The President of the dead Confederacy 
lies in state in the metropolis of the South and every Southern common- 



m 



MIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 61? 

wealth is clothed in the habiliments of mourning. At this moment, 
throughout the wide borders of this Southern land, there is not a village or 
a hamlet which bears not the tokens of sorrow. By common consent the 
entire region consecrates this hour to the observance of funeral ceremonies 
in honor of our departed chief. General and heartfelt grief pervades the 
whole territory once claimed by the Confederac}'. Was sorrow so spontane- 
ous, so genuine, so unselfish, so universal, ever known in the history of com- 
munity and nation — sorrow at the departure of one who long ago refrained 
from a participation in public affairs, who had no pecuniary or political lega- 
cies to bequeath, and whose supreme blessings were utterly devoid of utilita- 
rian advantage ? This spectacle, grand, pathetic and unique, is not incapa- 
ble of explanation or devoid of special signifi(;ance. 

"Within that coffin in New Orleans, in silent majesty, reposes all that 
was mortal of him whom impartial history will designate as one of the most 
remarkable men of the nineteenth century. Around his bier, in profound 
resijectand loving veneration, are assembled the trustworthy representatives 
of the South. Encircling tliat venerable and uncrowned head are memo- 
ries of valor, of knightly courtesy, of intellectual, moral and political pre- 
eminence, of high endeavor and of heroic martyrdom. In that dignified 
form — so calm, so cold in the embrace of death— we recognized the highest 
type of the Southern gentleman. In his person, carriage, cultivated address 
and superior- endowments, we hail the culmination of our patriarchial civi- 
lization. In him was personified all that was highest, truest, grandest, alike 
in the hour of triumph and in the day of defeat. He was the chosen head 
and the prime exponent of the aspirations and the heroism of the Southern 
Confederacy. As such his people looked up to and rallied around him in 
the period of proud endeavor, and as such they still saluted him amid the 
gloom of disappointment. As we approach that revered form and render 
signal tribute at the grave of our dead President, every recollection of a 
glorious past is revived, and our souls are filled with memories over which 
t'he ' iniquity of oblivion ' should never be allowed blindly to 'scatter her 
poppy.' It is a great privilege, my friends, to render honor to this illustri- 
ous man. Ours be the mission to guard well his memory, accepting it in the 
present and commending it to the future as redolent of manhood most 
exalted, of virtues varied and most admirable." 

He then gave a very vivid sketch of the life and a fidthful portrayal of 
the character of Mr. Davis, ably defending him from the charge of " trea- 
son," and concluded by saying : 

" In his quiet home at Beauvoir, ennobled by the presence of the live- 
oak— that monarch of the Southern forest— beautified by the queenly mag- 
nolia-grandifiora, redolent of the perfumes of a semi-tropical region, fanned 
by the soft breezes from the Gulf, and cheered by exhibitions of respect, 
affection, and veneration most sincere, President Davis passed the evening 



618 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

of his eventful life. Since the hush of that great storm which convulHed 
this land, he has borne himself with a dignity and a composure, with a fidel- 
ity to Confederate traditions, with a just observance of the proprieties of the 
situation, and with an exalted manhood worthy of all admiration. 

" Conspicuous for his gallantry and ability as a military leader — promi- 
nent as a Federal Secretary of War — as a senator and stateman renowned 
in the political annals of these United States — illustrious for all time as the 
President of a nation which, although maintaining its existence for only a 
brief space, bequeathed glorious names, notable events, and proud memo- 
ries which will survive the flood of years — most active, intelligent, and suc- 
cessful in vindicating the aims, the impulses, the rights and the conduct of 
the Southern people during their phenomenal struggle for independence — 
his reputation abides unclouded by defeat, unimpaired by the mutations of 
fortune and the shadows of disappointment. 

"Surely no token of affection can be too profuse — no mark of respect too 
emphatic — no rendition of honor too conspicuous — no funeral tribute too 
imposing for this dead chieftain of the South. Dead, did I say ? 

' To live in hearts we leave behind, 
Is not to die.' 

" Even now his name is upon every Southern lip, and his memory 
enshrined in every Southern heart, 

"Even now, all through this brave Southland funeral bells are tolling his 
requiem. The bravest and the knightliest are reverently bearing his pre- 
cious body to the tomb. Benedictions, invoked by lips touched with a live 
coal from off the altar, are descending like the dew of Hermon. Pious 
drops bedew the cheeks of noble women, and the heads of stalwart men are 
bowed in grief. The hour is hol3% and the occasion most privileged. 

" In bidding farewell to our President, we rejoice, that by a kind Provi- 
dence, it was granted unto him to spend in our midst 

" ' His twelve long hours 
Bright to the edge of darkness ; then the calm 
Repose of twilight — and a crown of stars.'" 

" We rejoice that he was permitted to render back his great spirit into the 
hands of the God who gave it, surrounded by devoted friends, accompanied 
by the loves of Southern hearts, and amid the comforts of the metropolis of 
the South. We rejoice that having attained unto the full measure of human 
life and enjoyed the highest honors which Southern hands could offer — all 
mundane cares overpast — he has, as we confidently believe, serenely entered 
into that Upper Realm where there are 'trees of unfading lovelinessf 
pavements of emerald, canopies of brightest radiance, gardens of deep and 
tranquil security, palaces of proud and stately decoration, and a city of 
lofty pinnacles through which there unceasingly flows the river of gladness, 
and wheie jubilee is ever rung with the concord of seraphic voices.'" 



\ 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 619 

Macun, where he had last appeared in pubHc, and liad received so enthusi- 
astic an ovation, brought loving tribute to his memory. The Confederate 
Veterans, the city authorities, the citizens generally, united in honoring 
him. 

Memorial Day an immense meeting was held in the Academy of Music, 
where appropriate and eloquent speeches were made by Capt. John C. 
Rutherford, Hon. N. E. Harris, Hon. Dupont Guerry, and Mr. F. H. Richard- 
son. We have already quoted the telegram sent by Capt. R. E. Park, offer- 
ing a place of burial, and may add that the whole people united in this 
offer, as well as in a very liberal contribution to the "Davis Fund." 

The visit of Mr. Davis to Macon two years ago gave the people of that 
city a peculiar personal interest in him, and no where were there m.ore 
loving tributes to his memory. The Macon Telegraph thus begun its beauti- 
ful editorial announcement of his death : 

" In the opening hour of yesterday, at New Orleans, closed the career of 
one of the most notable men born on this continent — a man loved and 
hated as few have been. Of this love and hate it can be truthfully said 
that the first was the fitting reward of the great qualities of mind and 
character which were illustrated in Mr. Davis's whole life. His people loved 
him for his faithfulness, his unbending courage, his flawless integrity, his 
unselfish devotion to their interests, his unswerving loyalty to truth and 
honor: They were proud of the man whose powers of mind made him 
foremost in the councils of the nation and of the accomplished soldier whose 
high qualities reflected glory on the whole people from the battle-fields of 
Mexico ; but they were prouder still of the citizen who during his fourscore 
years filled all the varied stations of public employment the American citi- 
zen can occupj'', surrounded always by the bitterest enemies, yet never was 
the integrity of his character or the purity of his motives questioned. He 
was loved and honored because he was entirely worthy of the admiration 
of his fellowmen, and because he served millions of them." 

The Confederate Veterans, here, as elsewhere, led in loving tribute to 
their great commander, and at a meeting of which Commander C. M. Wiley 
was chairman, and Captain R. E. Park secretary, passed appropriate and 
feeling resolutions, after stirring speeches by Commander Wiley, Major 
John B. Cobb, Mr. Ben. C. Smith and Captain R. E. Park. 

The resolutions earnestly begged Mrs. Davis to select Macon as the place 
of interment, and Captain Park sent the telegram we have already quoted. 

At the churches generally in Macon appropriate allusion was made on the 
Sunday after his death to our dead President. 

Memorial Day was observed by suspension of business, draping of houses, 
firing of minute guns, the tolling of bells, and a monster mass-meeting at 
the Academy of ]\Iusic, which was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. E. W. 
Waxren, and where there were appropriate and stirring speeches by Hon. 



620 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Clifford Anderson, Captain J. C. Rutherford, Hon. N. E. Harris, Hon. 
Dupont Gurrey, and Colonel F. H. Richardson. Macon contributed over 
four thousand dollars to the " Davis Fund." 

The Wesleyan Christian Advocate, published at Macon, said of him in an 
elaborate editorial : 

" A soldier of renown, a great statesman, a pure patriot, and the chosen 
head of a cause dear to every Southern heart, he was much admired and 
loved while living, and now that he is dead is mourned by millions of 
Southern people, and by men of great minds everywhere." 

Savannah was not behind her sister cities in her tender, loving tribute to 
one to whom she gave so enthusiastic an ovation when he visited her in 
1886. The Confederate veterans and the citizens generally, united in 
making " Memorial Day" memorable in the history of Savannah. 

In the Lutheran Church Rev. Dr. W. S. Bowman, Rev. Dr. I. S. K. Axson, 
Rev. R. Q. Way, Rev. Dr. J. E. L. Holmes, Rev. W. S. Royal, Rev. J. W. 
Gilmore and Rev. Richard Webb participated in the conduct of the services- 
Dr. J. E. L. Holmes, of the First Baptist Church, recalled some deeply inter- 
esting reminiscences of Mr. Davis as he knew him during the war, and Dr. 
W. S. Bowman, of the Lutheran Church, made an appropriate address. 

Eloquent eulogies were delivered at St John's Church by Rev. Mr. Strong, 
and at Christ Church by Rev. Rob. White. 

The Confederate Veterans met in the hall of the Chatham Artillery, and 
were called to order by Gen. McLaws, who stated the object of the meeting 
in a few words fitly chosen. 

General Henry R. Jackson then addressed the meeting and offered the 
resolutions. His remarks were frequently interrupted with applause. 
"Mr. Chairman: 

" Before reading the resolutions which the committee submit to the meet- 
ing, I cannot withhold a brief utterance. 

"The London Times, called by some the Tiers Etat, and by others the 
Thunderer of England, because of its world-wid-e journalistic supremacy, 
announced to its readers that the message of the Provisional President to 
the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America was the 
ablest State paper that had ever einanated from the AVestern Hemisphere. 
In expression strong and chaste — how few the tongues or pens that have 
ever used the English language with happier effect than did that of Jeffer- 
son Davis? Clear and simple, brief but exhaustive, embracing, as the acorn 
embraces the oak, all the principles of life which must infallibly grow in 
the governmental civilization of this entire continent, behold the Master's 
work which the mighty organ of British intellect commended to the 
applaure of mankind! Thanks be to the providence of God, the states- 
man's brain, which knew how thus to present cardinal truths, was coupled 
with the hero's soul which did xot know how to surrender, or to qualify, or 



622 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

to ignore them. This combination, in startling contrast with the times in 
which he lived, SHrviving, as he did, all other great representative men, out- 
speaking these vivifying truths, came to make him their one breathing 
embodiment. Then was exhibited to the world, and for all its coming gen- 
erations, a grand spectacle, which had no precedent in all its past history. 
In the lapse of the dull, degenerate days which followed, when the buzz of 
the insect tribes monopolized the tainted air, as the physical man grew thin- 
ner and weaker, the moral man was ever growing stronger, broader, taller, 
until, at the close, he stood in a lofty solitude, as absolute in appearance, as, 
jn reality, it was sublime. ' Like some tall cliff,' jilanted in granite, solid, 
pure, unadulterated, he did indeed 'swell from the vale'; indeed, indeed, 
he midway left the rolling cloud, the darkness and the storm; indeed, 
indeed, indeed, ' eternal sunshine' will 'settle on his head.' For this, the 
lofty part of him, thanks again be paid to the providence of God! cannot 
die. There still it stands — there shall it stand forever — a beacon, snowy 
white, to guide the struggling patriot of this entire hemisphere of America, 
South as well as North, even as Orizaba, the loneliest and the loveliest of all 
he snow-capt mountains when the sunlight streams through the rack of 
scudding clouds, guides the storm-tost mariner on her domestic sea." 

The following resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically adopted 

"The death of Jefferson Davis is an event of solemn import. 

" For long years — embracing a period of unexampled turmoil and strife, 
of gigantic effort and patriotic endeavor, of bright hope and unavailing 
despair, of glorious victory and bitter defeat — he was the exponent of this 
Southern land and of its proud people. And when the end came — when 
failure settled upon the banners of the Confederacy and its brave armies 
retired from the field — still was he our representative — in suffering. 

"In the discharge of the duties of his exalted station, who will deny that 
he brought every power with which the Almighty had endowed him — the 
clear intellect, the indomitable will, the inflexible purpose to lead so long as 
there was one to follow, the loving heart whose passionate attachment to 
the land of his birth, ceased only with its last pulsation? 

"It was this that gave him his great hold upon the Southern people — he 
loved, lis. And so as heart responds to heart, we loved him; and now that 
the venerable form is forever still, now that the ' good gray head ' is laid 
upon its final pillow, his memory shall be fragrant to us and to our children 
after us. 

"One by one the links that bind us to the eventful past are being broken. 
One by one the comrades who stood by our sides in those stormy days have 
gone to rest. Again and again we have'closed our ranks to fill the gaps, as 
in the heat of battle. But now!— the summons comes to the chief, and it is 
as though a great curtain had fallen between us and the days that are gone. 

" It is meet at such a juncture that the Confederate Veterans' Association 
of Savannah should give expression to the feelings evoked by the occasion ; 
therefore, be it 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 623 

" Resolved, That in the death of Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the Con- 
federate States of America, there is a sense of personal bereavement to each 
member of tliis Association. 

" Resolved, That the memory of his patriotic services to the Southern peo- 
ple, and of the high virtues that marked his private character, shall ever be 
cherished by us as an incentive to unselfishness in action and purity of life. 

" Resolved, That we extend to the widow of President Davis and to all the 
members of his family the aflTectionate sympathy of honest hearts. May 
the father of all mercies comfort and sustain them in this hour of bereave- 
ment and anguish 

"Resolved, That it will ever be a source of grateful thanksgiving to every 
Southern heart that the declining years of our venerable chief were passed 
in the peaceful quiet of his Mississippi home ; that he outlived the pain of 
failure, and that it was his happy privilege to learn from actual demonstra- 
tion that the people for whom he had done so much, loved and honored him 
to the last. 

" Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to Mrs. Davis, and also 
that they be published in the journals of the city." 

Then followed an immense procession of veterans, military, and citizens 
generally to the Confederate monument where General A. R. Lawton (the 
gallant soldier and able Quartermaster-General of the Confederacy) called the 
vast assemblage to order by saying : 
" Felloiv Citizens, 

" I respectfully ask your silent attention. At this solemn hour, and 
in the shadow of this monument — the burial hour of our beloved Confed- 
erate Chief, and the monument erected to the Confederate dead — our 
thoughts, my friends and comrades, are instinctively turned to prayer — the 
subject and the scene are to us so touching that nothing can so solace as the 
voice of prayer." 

Rev. Mr. Strong led in a fervent and appropriate prayer, and pronounced 
the benediction, and the vast assemblage dispersed. 

We cannot give more space to Georgia's tribute, and can only say that 
appropriate memorial exercises were held atThomasville.Talbotton, Dublin, 
Calhoun, Cartersville, Albany, Newnan, Eatonton, Decatur, Douglasville, 
Rome, (where the soldier-preacher. Rev. Dr. R. B. Headden, made an elo- 
quent address) "Waycross, Quitman, Washington, Milledgeville, Americus, 
Athens, Harlem, Griffin, Madison, Tennille, Elberton, Covington, West Point, 
(where Rev. J. Howard Carpenter composed an ode to be sung on the occa- 
sion and made a stirring speech), Carrollton, Saundersville, Sparta, Lawrence- 
ville, Fort Valley, Darien, Amoskeag, Jonesboro', McDonough, Gainesville, 
Perry, La Grange, Clinton, Columbus, Dalton, Fort Gaines, Cordele, Haw- 
kinsville, and well nigh every other town and hamlet in the State. And 
at all of these points contributions were made for the Davis fund. 



624 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

Kentucky's tribute. 

It was to be expected that the grand old State which gave birth to Jeffer- 
son Davis would not be behind in paying tribute to his memory, and in this 
there was no disappointment. 

We have already given the proclamation of Kentucky's Soldier-Gover- 
nor, and have spoken of her delegation at the funeral in New Orleans. 

Ata meeting held in Louisville Rev. Dr. John A. Broadus, President of 
the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, presented the following reso- 
lutions : 

" Resolved, That among the eminent public men of the world in the gen- 
eration just closing, Jefferson Davis must always hold a conspicuous place as 
the chosen leader of a great people in one of the mightiest wars known to 
history, and as a man of great and varied abilities, of deep-rooted and ever 
unshaken convictions, of lofty patriotism in accordance with these convic- 
tions, of vast political knowledge and diversified experience, and of unim- 
peachable integrity and honor. 

" Resolved, That, while the leader in a great and unsuccessful struggle is 
sure to be severely criticised, we to-day look back upon the life-long career 
and high character of the Confederate President with hearty admiration, 
and we trust that among all surviving Confederates the brotherhood based 
on great memories will be universal and perpetual. 

" Resolved, That we delight to observe how fast the animosities of the war 
have been fading away, and we are persuaded that it cannot be long before 
the great civil and military leaders on both sides will be contemplated with 
something of common pride as illustrious Americans. 

" Resolved, That Kentucky -recognizes in Jefferson Davis one of that long 
list of men born on her soil who have made a distinguished career in other 
States, and wishes to stand with Mississippi among the chief mourners at 
his grave. 

" Resolved, That we regard Mr. Davis's State papers and, his work on the 
' Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government' as admirable for their politi- 
cal insight and their consummate excellence of style, and as full of histori- 
cal instruction even to those who differ most widely from his characteristic 
opinions. 

" Resolved, That we think with pathetic interest of his declining years, 
with their quiet friendships and gentle courtesies and Christian consola- 
tions, and of his calm and peaceful end." 

Judge H. W. Bruce, who was a member of the Confederate Congress and 
a friend of IMr. Davis, being called out, made an admirable speech, in which, 
after alluding to his relations to Mr. Davis and the circumstances of his 
inauguration in Richmond, February 22, 1862, he said: 

" I spent most of the time during the war in Richmond, not alone while 
Congress was in session, but during the vacations also. I was a frequent 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 625 

visitor at President Davis's house, and, as were all others, a welcome visitor. 
He was the most accessible and approachable of men ; in AVestern phrase, 
the latch-string of his home always hung out. He was the most democratic 
of Presidents. No citizen who once called on him. ever hesitated to repeat 
*the visit. No farmer in Kentucky has simpler manners than Jefferson 
Davis had ; and, at the same time, no man in any station of life ever had 
manners more graceful and refined. I never met a more aflFable man nor a 
more interesting talker. A man of thorough scholarship, of fullness of 
knowledge, of vast and varied experience, he was thoroughly at home, and 
conversed entertainingly and instructively on any subject. His patriotism 
was pure and intense. He had before the war rendered valuable and dis- 
tinguished services to the United States both in military and civil capaci- 
ties. He had fought for his country in two wars ; he had legislated for it 
in both houses of Congress, and had counseled it in Cabinet at the head of 
the War Department. He brought to the discharge of his duties as Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States unusual native ability, thorough scholarship, 
vast and varied experience in aflPairs, unimpeachable integrity, the purest 
and most elevated patriotism, and a courage that knew no fear. Failure was 
not his fault. He had implicit confidence in the peoj^le. He believed the 
people of each State should rule its own affairs ; in other words, he believed 
in the people of each State governing themselves without dictation or even 
interference from the people of other States or countries. It was the viola- 
tion of this principle, you know, that brought on the war. The Southern 
States refused to yield to such dictation and interference with their domes- 
tic affairs. War was w^aged against them in consequence. They resisted. 
The world, not understanding the issue, sided against them, and they were 
defeated. States' rights seemed to go down in this defeat. But our great 
leader said the cause was not lost. It will rise again. The people of this 
great country cannot afford to surrender the rights of the States, and will 
not do so permanently. The assertion of those rights hereafter, how^ever, 
will not be impeded by the incubus of slavery as it was in 1860-'5, and the 
principle for which our hero and chief led the hosts of the Confederacy will 
ultimately prevail. 

" Small men of sectional prejudices and bitter partisanship, narrow men 
who are not blessed wuth a spirit sufficiently catholic to consider and love 
their whole country, will not acknowledge the patriotism and greatness, and 
some will attempt to sully the fame of Jefferson Davis. But impartial his- 
tory, if not to-day, hereafter will do him justice; and when impartial his- 
tory shall have been written Confederates will not be ashamed of their 
President. 

"I was in St. Paul's Church, Richmond, Sunday morning, that sad 2d day 
of April, 1865, and saw the messenger go to President Davis's pew, and saw 
him get up and withdraw from the worshiping congregation. I felt instantly 



G26 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UME. 

that something was wrong. I also withdrew, and soon after leaving the 
church learned the sad determination that Richmond must be evacuated. 
I went out that night with the Government. The last point at which I saw 
the President was at Greensboro', N. C. I have seldom seen him since the 
war. The last time was at the Gait House, in this city, only three or four 
years since, when he was as erect in person, and mentally as bright and 
clear, it seemed to me, as when I first met him more than twenty years 
before. On that occasion he described with the clearness a.nd accuracy of 
the able lawyer a great argument he had heard his old friend and Cabinet 
counsellor, Judah P. Benjamin, make in an English court on an abstruse 
question of maratime law. I then expected, notwithstanding his advanced 
age, that he would remain with us many j-ears longer. But his day has 
come, and at a ripe old age he has left us ; and this Southland and the 
enlightened and unprejudiced portions of the civilized world mourn the 
loss of a brave soldier, an able commander, a wise statesman, a pure Chris- 
tian, and a colossal figure of this age." 

Appropriate and eloquent speeches were also made by Col. J. Stoddard 
Johnston, Major E. H. McDonald, Gen. Thomas H. Taylor, and Col. B. H. 
Young, and the Confederate Association voted to raise at least 1100,000, of 
which it pledged itself for $10,000, for the " Davis Fund," and sent the tele- 
gram we have already quoted. 

Col. J. Stoddard Johnston (a nephew of the lamented Albert Sidney John- 
ston) closed his speech by saying: 

" The bugbear of alarm which was manifested for a long time after the 
war whenever Mr. Davis would give expression to his faith that the cause 
was not lost, was for a long time sought to be made a pretext for a belief 
that he meant that in some other form the struggle for the establishment of 
the Southern Confederacy would be renewed. But no man ever was further 
from such an idea. He believed that the blood spilled in behalf of this 
great cause had not been spilled in vain, and that while success had not 
crowned the efibrts of those who, against such great odds, had dared to 
make the issue, yet the world would in time come to eliminate prejudice 
from reason and awake to»a realization of the true idea lying at the founda- 
tion of a struggle which evoked so much of heroism and self-sacrifice. And 
so it was that he came to see that under the New Union, as it is, the spirit 
of liberty, as he idealized it, has had its triumph, and that his great cause 
finds in the firmer tenacity with which the States maintain their right of 
self-government, and the greater assurances that they will remain free from 
unconstitutional encroachment by the Federal Government. And so it is 
that I cherish the conviction that, disfranchised though he was, his great 
mind took in the grandeur of the future of this great country, which, united 
by the common sorrows of a war that the political conditions could not long 
have averted, is insured a lasting peace by the greater forbearance and 



SIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 627 

fespect which after such experiences 'each section will show the other. 
Nay, with his far-reaching eye, he must have seen wherein the people of 
every nation, as well as our own, would have their love of liberty quickened 
and their faith in republics strengthened when they come to understand the 
true stake for which the South, with him as its chosen leader, endured the 
hardships of a four-years' war. 

" It was in such a light that I held Jefferson Davis during the years that 
his conduct, his thoughts, and his connections were subject to my personal 
scrutiny, and it is as such a man, pure in morals, lofty in his love for liberty, 
uncompromising in his convictions of right ; such a man as heroes and 
martyrs are made of, yet gentle and alive to all the duties of a Christi-an 
gentleman, that I shall revere in memory to my latest hour of life, and point 
for imitation to my children and the children of his countrymen. 

" Noble friend ! whose name I have cherished for so many years for all 
the virtues I have named, and in gratitude for the sublime friendship and 
confidence he exhibited at a critical moment to Albert Sidney Johnston, 
may a grateful people show to his memory that homage which, in his life 
was denied them, and in their love may those dear to him who survive find 
the succor and sympathy which is theirs by a just inheritance ! " 
The Courier- Journal said editorially : 

" The funeral of Mr. Davis yesterday in New Orleans fitly expressed a 
people's sorrow and faithfully represented a sentiment of affection for the 
dead chief of the Confederacy. 

" In the long procession which slowly moved through the streets of New 
Orleans were soldiers from every battle-field of the East and West, who 
came to pay their last tribute to one who, above all others, represented the 
cause for which they had sacrificed so much. These men turned away from 
the fields of strife long ago, and have made other places for themselves 
among their fellow-citizens. New ties have been formed, new obligations 
have been accepted, but the past has memories of its own, and imposes obli- 
gations of its own, and in obedience to these sentiments common to all 
mankmd, the old Confederates followed to the grave him who. had been 
through four long years the guiding star of a new nation. 

"Mr. Davis dies at a ripe old age, living long enough to see the animosities 
of the war die out and to have that respect which a generous people will 
always pay to one who, for his convictions, will put at risk all a man holds 
dear. We cannot well anticipate the verdict of common generations on a 
man or on any cause, successful or disastrous, but on high personal charac- 
ter on those traits which dignify manhood, not even the bitterest personal 
malice can divide public opinion. ]\Ir. Davis has won the respect even of 
his opponents ; he has borne himself in a manner to bring no discredit on 
the cause he represented, and by his open grave stand many who, with no 
thought of the past, seek to pay respect to the worth of the man, saying : 
" ' This earth that bears the dead, 
Bears not alive a truer gentleman.' " 



(J28 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

The Western Recorder, edited by Rev. Dr. T. T. Eaton (who, as a boy, gal- 
lantly rode with Bedford Forrest, the great "Wizard of the Saddle"), said 
in its editorial : 

'"The death of the Hon. Jefferson Davis removes from earth one of the 
most prominent figures of this century. Perhaps no man of his time has 
made a wider or deeper mark upon the age than he. His biography would 
be a history of the country for more than a generation past. * * * * 

"Mr. Davis was a statesman of the old school, firmly and consistently 
adhering to the articles of his political faith and accepting fearlessly all the 
consequences. He was no trickster nor time-server. He never hesitated to 
maintain wliat he believed to be right because it was unpopular. He was a 
man of great ability, and he never failed to make himself strongly felt along 
every line in which he took an interest. 

" In his personal character Mr Davis was above reproach. He was simple 
in his tastes and manners, and readily won those with whom he came in 
contact. His friendships were true and sincere. He was loving and devoted 
in his home, and, above all, he was a devout Christian." 

All over Kentucky memorial meetings were held, and the warmest tributes 
paid to the memory of our chief, but we cannot here find space even to 
mention them. We have given the proclamation of the Soldier-Governor 
of Kentucky (General S. B. Buckner), and have made appropriate mention of 
the Kentucky delegation sent to New Orleans. 

At Paris the Confederate Veterans and citizens generally had a meeting 
at which appropriate resolutions were passed, and eloquent speeches made 
by Captain J. M. Jones, and Colonel W. E. Sims. 

At LexinglonWo meetings were held, one in the Courthouse and one in the 
Opera House. At the latter the venerable Rev. Dr. R. Ryland,formerly Pres- 
ident of Riclimond College, gave some touchingreminiscencesof Mr. Davis's 
life in Richmond during the war, which we should like to quote in full, and 
Captain R. H. Fitzhugh read the following characteristic and significant 
letter : 

" Beauvoie, Miss August 12th, 1890. 
" Captain E. II. Fitzhugh, 

"Dear Sir: 

" Your cordial letter was duly received and be assured that the 
delay in its acknowledgment was not the result of want of appreciation. 
Please accept my thanks for your expressed desire to draw near to me in the 
evening of our life. 

"With the earnest hope that when our pilgrimage is over, we may meet in 
a happier state of existence. 

(Signed) " Very truly yours, 

" Jefferson Davis." 

At Stafford Rev. Dr. George Hunt made one of the best memorial addresses 
that we have seen, and we had purposed publishing i]a full. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 629 

At Russellville, at Florence, at Owensboro', at Fairview, at Fulton, at 
Winchester, at Henderson, and at nearly all of the towns and villages of 
the State there were meetings, speeches, resolutions, &c., to swell the warm 
tribute of Kentucky to her great son. 

The Bethel Baptist Church at Fairview passed appro^jriate resolutions, 
and tendered a burial place on the spot of his birth, being a ^avi of the lot 
he had given to the church as a site for a house of worship. 

Mississippi's tribute. 

In the account of the funeral obsequies we have already given the pro- 
clamation of the Soldier-Governor (General Lowry),his speech at the great 
meeting of Confederate Veterans, and other items which show how warmly 
the great heart of Mississippi throbbed in unison with the general grief 
for the death of her most illustrious son. 

Meetings were held, eloquent and appropriate speeches were made, and 
resolutions adopted throughout the State. 

The following were sent Mrs. Davis from the University of Mississippi : 

" Resolved, That earnestly desiringto attestour love and admiration for the 
memory of Jefferson Davis, and to manifest the high estimate in which we 
hold his eminent public services, his unselfish private life and his exalted 
patriotism, we, the business men of Oxford, the faculty and students of the 
University of Mississippi, do now suspend our daily avocations and pur- 
suits that the countrymen of Jefferson Davis here present may pay fitting 
tribute to the memory of the distinguished dead. 

^^ Resolved, That in the death of Jefferson Davis IVIississippi has lost her 
greatest son, the Southern people their most devoted friend, and the country 
at large one of the greatest, noblest and truest men, and one whose name, 
we believe, will take rank in history with those of the most exalted 
patriots of his time. 

"Resolved, That we, the citizens of Oxford ami members of the State Uni- 
versity, do extend to the bereaved family our tenderest sympathies and our 
assurance that although their loss in the lamented dead is unutterably great, 
yet shall we never permit such loss to cause our affectionate interest in 
them to fall away." 

She also received copies of resolutions adopted in meetings held at the 
following points: Holly Springs, Ladies' Confederate Monument Associa- 
tion at Jackson, IMontgomery County Farmers' Alliance, Centreville, Shu- 
qualak, Natchez, Canton, Corinth, A'icksburg, Grenada, Meridian, Columbus,' 
West Point, and other places. 

But the Legislature of the State set apart January 22, 1890, as a " Memo-j 
rial Day," and had proceedings, which were reported as follows in the Jack- 
son Clarion-Ledger : 

"AYednesday being set apart as IMemorial l^ay, there was no regular ses- 
sion of either house. During the day lovely ladies with sturdy assistants 



630 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

had been busy in decorating the hall suitable for the naemorable occasion. 
In front of the Speaker's stand was a large table with a satin cover ; hang- 
ing from the stand was the Confederate coat of arms, draped with black 
Batin, with streamers of red, white, and blue ; back of the Speaker's stand 
was a life-size portrait of Mr. Davis, heavily draped ; on one side of the 
stand hung a Confederate flag at half mast, furled and draped ; on the 
other side was seen the flag of Mississippi ; by the side of the Confederate 
flag was pendent the sword Mr. Davis had worn through the Mexican war; 
by the flag of Mississippi a large pen ; United States flags were hung in dif- 
ferent parts of the hall. Many of the decorations were from the home of 
Mr. Davis. 

"The House was called to ordei". at 7 o'clock, when the roll was called. 

" Mr. Barber, chairman of the House committee appointed to wait upon 
Mrs. Davis and invite her to attend the memorial exercises, made the fol- 
lowing report, which was unanimously adopted : 

" Mr. Speaker : 

" Your committee appointed to visit Mrs. Varina Howell Davis and 
invite her to be present at the memorial services to be held by the Legisla- 
ture of the State of Mississippi on "Wednesday, the 22d of January, 1890, in 
honor of Hon. Jefferson Davis, beg leave to report — 

" That in compliance with your concurrent resolution they visited INIrs. 
Varina Davis at her home, in Jieauvoir, Miss., and that they invited her and 
family to be present with us on that occasion, and that she was deeply 
touched with this mark of your regard for her deceased husband, and begged 
us to assure you of her love and esteem for the State that honored her hus- 
band in life, which State he loved so well, but that physical inability would 
prevent her from complying with your request. 

" Respectfully submitted.— E. M. Barber, J. M. Pelham, R. F. Abbay, W. 
G. Evans, Jr., committee on part of House. 

" The Speaker appointed Messrs. Gunn, Vardeman and Gillespie a commit- 
tee to invite the Senate to meet with the House in joint session. 

" The committee reported, and in a few moments the Senate appeared ; 
Lieutenant-Governor Evans presiding. 

" The band rendered a dirge. 

" The Governor, and staff, and committee and escort, orators of the even- 
ing, and Judges of the Supreme Court came in. 

"Then thirteen young ladies representing the thirteen States of the Con- 
federacy, entered the hall bearing a pyramid of flowers on a silver litter, 
the thirteenth lady walking behind, bearing the bonny Blue Flag, in the 
following order : 

" ^Mississippi, Miss Lilla Chiles ; Florida, Miss Ola Mason ; North Carolina, 
Miss Virgie Cameron ; South Carolina, Miss Nannie Calhoun ; Kentucky, 
Miss Elise Govan ; Tennessee, Miss Annie Stone ; Louisiana, Miss Kate 



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632 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

Chambers ; Georgia, Miss Mary Evans ; Texas, Miss Lula Harrington ; Ala- 
bama, Miss Willie Atkinson; Maryland, Miss Alexander; Missouri, Miss 
Ida Mitchell ; Virginia, Miss Kate Power. 

" Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson then read 3rd chapter, 1-10 verses of the 
AYisdom of Solomon, followed by an earnest prayer. 

" Miss Lilla Chiles recited the ' Conquered Banner' in a highly dramatic 
manner, bringing tears to the eyes of many of the audience. 

"The 'Bonny Blue Flag' by the band was received by loud applause. 

"Senator Cameron read the following resolutions, which had been adopted 
by the Memorial Committee : 

" The Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi 
assembled in joint Convention in memory of Jefierson '.Davis, her most 
illustrious citizen and public servant resolve to record of him : 

"That he gave to the public service the greater part of a life made bril- 
liantand memorable by the display of high endowments of mind and spirit, 
and was never tempted by popularity or success to deviate from the line of 
duty. 

" That in the several promotions through which he reached the highest 
grade of public employment he regarded each added honor not as a personal 
reward, but as a demand by his country for greater zeal and greater effort 
to meet greater responsibilities. 

" That as asoldier and commander he gave renown to the State troops, and 
in the civil service of the State and the United States his achievements 
reflected honor upon Mississippi and imparted lustre and influence to her 
position. 

" That he loved his State, and gave to her behests absolute obedience. 

"That the confidence, admiration and affection given to him in such full 
measure by the people of the South did not arise out of any mistake or mis- 
conception of character, but were founded upon positive knowledge of his 
excellence, as shown both in public and private life, during periods of com- 
mon peril and temptations, and throughout a long, varied, and illustrious 
career. 

" That his patriotism, courage, constancy, and fidelity were of that high 
class of public virtues which makes the true glory of States and nations, 
and commends his name to future generations as an example of all that is 
elevated in human conduct. 

" Mr. Barbour moved that the resolutions be spread upon the journals of 
both houses, which was seconded by l\Ir. Abbay and adopted. 

" Dirge by the band. 

" Mr. Watson moved to amend the resolutions by suitably enrolling and 
sending to the family of IMrs, Davis a copy of the same. 

"Hon. G. A. Wilson was introduced as the orator representing the Senate, 
and delivered a most interesting and able address on the life and character 
of ]\Ir. Davis, commencing with birth and following him through all the 
vicissitudes of life down to the shades of death. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 633 

" Hon. L. W. Magnider, as orator on the part of the House, followed in 
one of his characteristically beautiful orations, each phrase being a jewel 
and each word a gem. He referred to the public career of Mr. Davis and 
held him up as one of the grandest characters known in history. 

"Judge J. A. P. Campbell was then introduced, and delivered one of the 
most forcible, learned, and eloquent addresses ever heard in the Capitol. 
From first to last he had the wrapt attention of the audience, and his grand 
flights and beautiful, patriotic sentiments were loudly cheered. He felt 
every word he spoke, and did great credit to the noble man whose memory 
he so fondly cherishes and deeply reveres. As an orator Judge Campbell 
has few equals in this countrj-, and lie, above all men, was the proper person 
to do homage to the deeds of glory and valor of the great Mississippian. 

"At the conclusion of Judge Campbell's address Bishop Thompson invoked 
the divine blessing, and the joint convention was adjourned." 

No State ever loved a son more ardently or honored him more joyfully 
than Mississippi did Jefferson Davis, and no son ever loved his State with 
more filial devotion than did Jefferson Davis love Mississippi, 

Arkansas's tribute. 

The proclamation of Governor J. P. Eagle, the "Soldier-Governor of 
Arkansas," and his speech at the grand soldiers' meeting in Xew Orleans 
have already been given. 

The State followed the lead of her Governor, and at almost every town 
and hamlet within her borders suitable memorial meetings were held and 
appropriate action taken. 

At Little Rock on Memorial Day there was a monster mass meeting in the 
State Capitol, at which there were beautiful and appropriate funeral deco- 
rations, and a solemn and deeply moved crowd. 

The oration delivered on the occasion by Judge U. M. Rose was one of the 
best we have seen, and we regret that we can only find room for the follow- 
ing extract from his conclusion : 

"The events of a man's life maybe regarded as the outward trappings 
and habiliments with which he has been invested by a more or less impla- 
cable destiny ; and after all categories are exhausted we do not see the man 
himself, nor perceive the indefinable and subtle elements that go to make 
up a distinct personality. I think that to most men Mr. Davis would appear, 
in imagination, like Wolsey. 

' " Lofty and sour, to them that loved liim not ; 

But, to those men that sought him, as sweet as summer.' " 

" Of course, his position during many years must have given him an ap- 
pearance of isolation; but it is certain that to those who were intimately 
acquainted with him he gave the impression of kindness of heart, of geni- 
ality of disposition, and of a cheerful demeanor. He had peculiarly strong 
hold on the friends that he made, and he made friends during everv period 



634 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. 

of his life. The long devotion of his former slaves to him, ending only 
with death, is a conclusive testimony of the humane tenor of his feelings. 
Persons whom he had met in his campaigns in the Black-Hawk War, when 
he was reputed to be the handsomest, the most free-hearted and compan- 
ionable of all the young officers in the service, remembered him after very 
many years with the warmest affection, which was not effaced by the hos- 
tilities that divided them in interests and in hopes. Some of these visited 
him in his latest years, and evinced all the tenderness of friendship which 
time and war could not destroy. As a husband, a father, a neighbor, he dis- 
played the kindest and most affectionate disposition. 

" A stormy life was followed by a quiet old age, which he devoted largely 
to a vindication, less of himself than of the people who had "entrusted their 
fortunes to his keeping. If in the early period of his retirement he some- 
times grieved his friends by public expressions that recalled too vividly the 
bitterness of the past, the feelings of which these were the evidence find no 
trace in the book in which he recorded his mature judgment of thedecisive 
events in which he played such a prominent part. Reconciled with the 
irrevocable past, he was able to perceive that our great civil war had worked 
out many beneficial results, and that the future might open up to the united 
American people such an immense field of usefulness and "prosperity a 
would dim even the brightness of their own past. For that work we owe 
him a debt of gratitude; for having been much read abroad, it has had the 
effect to greatly mitigate the harshness with which our people have often 
been judged. 

" Born on the very day when Napolean had reached the zenith of his 
power, and in the very month in which it began to decay, and dying in his 
S2d year, no man of our time ever had so many and such striking vicissi- 
tudes as Mr. Davis. From the days of Adams and Jefferson, through the 
long period that terminated in his death, he W'as personally acquainted with 
almost every distinguished man of his country and his time ; and he beheld 
such changes in all the varied affairs of humanity as far transcended the 
dreams of any generation that had preceded him. Outliving all the chief 
actors in the great drama in which he had played a principal part, surviving 
Lincoln, and Seward, and Grant, and Lee, and Jackson, and Stuart, how 
full of memories must his mind have been, as he trod the shores of that 
Southern gulf that broke in liarmonious sounds by his secluded home! 
Perhaps to him, as to many others, that complaining sea, extending far 
beyond the reach of human vision, containing in its sombre depths so many 
mysteries forever unexplained, presented the emblem of that wide eternity 
upon whose echoless shore are hushed all the sounds of human strife. 
Or perhaps when the tempest spread its black wings over the angry Maves, 
it. recalled the stormy scenes in which his life had been so largely spent; 
and it may be that in the succ-eeding calm that brooded on tlie quiet waters 
lie perceived the type of that peace that awaits the tired mariner when the 



JIIS SICSTNESS AND DEA TH. 635 

uncertain voyage of life is over. Surrounded by friends and family that 
had long been as dear to him 'as the ruddy drops that visited his sad 
heart,' it may be that weary of a world of turmoil, where we see but darkly 
and are oppressed with doubt, he was pleased to find in the bottom of the 
bitter cup of life that drop of anodyne, that 'sweet oblivious antidote,' that 
lulls every care to sleep. 

" But even now — dust to dustj ashes to ashes. So all things mortal end. 
The flowers have been strewn; the voice of the priest is silent ; the final 
requiem has been sung ; the last vibrations of the funeral bell still linger 
faintly on sea and land ; anc the chieftain, whose strange career is so deeply 
impressed on the page of history, having received God's great amnesty, has 
entered upon that last repose which shall never more be disturbed by the 
voice of praise or blame." 

Appropriate resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

At Hot Springs there was a large and enthusiastic meeting led by the Con- 
federate Veterans, at which Col. John M. Harrell made an eloquent and 
appropriate address. Mrs. Lillian B. Gray aroused great enthusiasm by 
reciting Judge George P. Smootes'a recent poem on "Jefferson Davis at 
Buena Vista," and appropriate resolutions were adopted. 

At Helena and at many other points in the State there were meetings, reso- 
lutions, and speeches, and the great State of Arkansas, whose soldiers were 
among the bravest of the brave in our great strujigle for constitutional free- 
dom, was no whit behind her Southern sisters in bringing loving tribute to 
our dead President. 

flokida's tribute. 

We have given the proclamation and the speech of Governor Fleming, 
who voiced the sentiments of his people. 

In response to a telegram from the New York World, the Go\ernor sent 
the following : 

" Tallahassee, Fla., December 6, 1889. 
" To the ^yoTld, New York: 

" Throughout a long life Jefferson Davis illustrated a pure and lofty 
character with a powerful intellect and unsurpassed abilities. Whether as 
a distinguished soldier of the Mexican war, whose skill and valor saved the 
day to the American arms at Buena Vista, as a Senator of the United States, 
as Secretary of War, or the chosen leader of the Confederate cause, he was 
alike true to every trust reposed in him, and exhibited abilities of the 
highest order. He was ever true to the principles of American liberty, and 
impartial history will accord him a place among the most profound states- 
men of the country. 

"Francis P. Fleming, Governor of Florida." 



636 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

At Jacksonville there was an enthusiastic meeting and suitable resolu- 
tions, and Dr. R. B. Burroughs, in transmitting the resolutions, addressed 

]\Irs. Davis the following letter : 

"Jacksonville, Fla., December 11, 1889. 
" To Mrs. Jefferson Davis : 

" Deak Madam : 

"At a meeting of the citizens of this place, held last 
evening, December 10th, the enclosed resolutions were unanimously adopted, 
and in order to give emphasis to them, and as additional evidence of feel- 
ing, it was also decided that a letter from the officer presiding, expressive of 
their reverence for the memory of your husband and their sympathy far 
you, should accompany them. 

" Honored by this trust, let me assure you that I fully feel the delicacy 
with which it should be performed, and that I fully know that in this dark 
hour of your grief but little can be brought to your stricken heart of com- 
fort or relief. 

"In the death and entrance upon a glorious immortality of the revered 
Jefferson Davis, there has passed from earth a character so grand in its pro- 
portions, so perfect in its symmetry, so faultless in its beauty, that the lan- 
guage applied to the immortal "Washington is equally pertinent to him ; that 
he ' exhibited in one glow of associated beauty the pride of every model 
and the perfection of every master.' In this combination of excellences of 
character, of one trait no man of modern or ancient times has given higher 
manifestation, and his name will always stand as the synonym of loyalty to 
duty and fidelity to trust. 

" With naked sword and eagle eye undimmed bj^ age he stood upon his 
lofty eminence guarding to the day of his death the sacred dust of the cause 
he so nobly defended, and like the sentinel at Plerculaneum, with the dust 
and ashes of a proud and mighty empire falling around him, he remained at 
his post undismayed with a serenity and calmness that was truly sublime. 

" As a soldier and in defense of the honor of his country, he poured out 
his blood on the soil of Mexico and held aloft in his loyal grasp the battle- 
stained flag of the Union, and though possessed of a spirit so attuned as to 
' feel oppression's slightest finger as a mountain weight,' he repelled from 
his bosom every feeling of hostility until convinced that the institutions he 
revered and the altars he held sacred were menaced. 

" It is conceded that in the portfoHo of Secretary of War he had no equal, 
as a warrior he was brave, as a statesman eloquent and wise, and when he 
held the reins of empire he was discreet and just. The death of President 
Davis seals the door' of the sepulchre in which, I trust, we have forever laid 
at rest the spirit of intolerance of those who bravely defended the cause 
they deemed just and right. To-night we sit beneath the willows and sing 
for the last time the requiem of a nation dead — 

" ' No nation rose so white ami f;iir, 
None fell so free of crime,' 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA tit. 637 

" This night the spirit of the illustrious chieftain encamps on the other 
shore with Lee, Jackson, Polk, and other Christian heroes where their ban- 
ner will never droop nor its stars grow pale. 

" I can see the light e'en now of a dawning day when those who fell in 
that fratricidal strife, each a patriot, contending for what he deemed the 
right, shall have mingled into one common fraternal dust that a nobler 
fabric will arise than that which our fathers built — the fabric of a more 
glorious Union, a Union, though founded on strife, that shall stand forever, 
indissolubly cemented by the blood of her sons, and shall bear on its corner- 
stone in letters of living light — the spirit of justice, equality, and right, a 
light that shall clearly illumine, and to this, and all coming generations, 
illustrate the character and the conduct of Jeflerson Davis and his followers. 

" To you, dear madam, the nearest friend of this great and good man, the 
widowed mother of his children, sitting with bowed head and stricken with, 
grief, we would come with words of tenderest sympathy, trusting that the 
God of the widow and the fatherless will comfort and sustain you, 

" With great respect, I am, dear madam, yours truly, 

"R. B. Burroughs." 

At Pcasacola, and at other points all over the State, suitable action was 
taken, and Florida paid our Chief a tribute not unworthy of her gallant 
soldiers who follow^ed his lead in the dark days of war. 

Maryland's tribute. 

" My JNIaryland " did not " come " to the Southern Confederacy simply 
because her geographical position was such that she could be and was 
" pinned to the Union by Federal bayonets ;" but the Confederacy had no 
more gallant soldiers than those who " ran tlie blockade " from this noble 
State ; there were no more loyal hearts than many who " waited and 
watched" at home, and nowhere have Confederate memories been more 
warmly cherished. " Our Dead President" had a warm tribute paid him in 
Maryland. 

On" Memorial Day" there was held at the armory of the Fifth Regiment 
in Baltimore a large and enthusiastic meeting, under the auspices of the 
Confederate Society of Maryland. The veterans from the " Home" — the old 
color bearer — the members of the Confederate Society with their battle-flag 
badges — the decorations — and the large number of distinguished men and 
noble women present — all combined to make a scene of deej) interest. 

Captain McHenry Howard called the meeting to order, and announced 
the following officers : President, j\Iayor Davidson ; Vice-Presidents, Hon. 
S. Teackle Wallis, Hon. George AVilliam Brown, General George H. Stewart, 
and General Bradley T. Johnson. Secretaries, IMajor W. Stuart Symington, 
and Captain John Donnell Smith. Committee on memorial, IMajor Thomas 
W. Hall. 



638 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Rev. Dr. R. H. McKim, of the Church of the Epiphany, Washington, (a 
gallant Confederate soldier), led in a fervent and appropriate prayer, and there 
were speeches of more than ordinary interest, feeling, and power by Mayor 
Davidson, who said that "another great oak of the forest has fallen." Colo- 
nel D. G. Mcintosh, who commanded a Battalion of Artillery in the Army 
of Northern Virginia, and who said in his speech, " We will bequeath his 
memory to our children as a precious legacy." Colonel Charles Marshall, 
the old military secretary of General Lee, who closed his address by asking 
" Who is there that is not proud to be the countryman of such a man, who 
was faithful to the last ? " General Bradley T. Johnston, of the old " Mary- 
land Line," who said, " Mr. Davis and the men with -him were trying to 
establish a government on the principles of the Constitution of 1789. I 
have never concluded that I have been glad that the war ended as it did." 
Rev. Dr. W. U. Murkland, who spoke of Mr. Davis and the Confederate 
Soldiers who followed him as " A brave chivalry that puts to blush all the 
chivalry of the past." And Hon. S. Teackle Wallis, who said of him, " He 
bore his persecutions as a christian and a gentleman." 

We very much regret that our limited space forbids our publishing these 
eloquent speeches in full. 

We can only find room for the following brief extracts. Colonel Mcintosh 
closed his speech by saying : 

"As President of the Confederacy Mr. Davis was called upon for the exer- 
cise of every quality which properly belongs to the statesman in the Cabi- 
net or the military chieftain in the field. The requisitions upon him were 
undoubtedly large, probably more than mortal man could respond to. He 
alone knew the full extent of the difficulties which beset him. No one 
could feel as he did the responsibility of the vast interests at home and 
abroad committed principally to his keeping. Armies had to be raised and 
fed and clothed, and equipped with all the munitions of war. Diplomatic 
agents had to be appointed and instructed, and delicate negotiations 
attempted with the leading powers abroad. At home jealousies had to be 
appeased and conflicting interests reconciled, while ever and at all times 
was the constantly recurring problem — bow, out of the poverty of the 
resources in reach, to meet the exigencies of each passing day. 

" Personal opposition, of course, he encountered ; personal enmities he 
could not do otherwise than arouse, but his intrepid spirit never faltered. 
Conscious of his own integrity, supremely self-reliant in the motives and 
public policy upon which his conduct was based, he kept on unflinchingly 
to the end. No disaster could appal him. When his troops met with 
reverses in the field he issued those wonderful addresses, charged with fiery 
eloquence, which, ringing like the tones of a trumpet, revived their droop- 
ing spirits and incited them afresh to deeds of valor. When the end came 
he was still undaunted. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 639 

" It was the fortune of a few of his soldiers who were not paroled at 
Appomattox to overtake him in his passage through the State of North 
Carolina. His faith in the God of battles and in the success of the cause 
was steadfast and unshaken. He could not believe that the star of the Con- 
federacy had fallen. His imperial will and the mighty purpose which had 
sustained him for more than four years refused to be thwarted, and with an 
intensify and eloquence born of genius he stood out for another base of 
operations. 

"The sublimity of his faith, the magnetism of his presence, the pathos of 
the situation, the contagion of his own nature, affected us in a way we were 
powerless to resist, and our little company parted from him with the assur- 
ance that we should join him in the department of the trans-Mississippi. 
Two days' ride across the waste left by Sherman's army revealed to us, as we 
had not seen it before, the poverty of the situation, and a day or two more 
brought tidings of the capture which completed the overthrow of the Gov- 
ernment. 

" The next time we saw Mr. Davis was when, as a prisoner^ he was brought 
from Fortress Monroe to be arraigned in the Circuit Court in Richmond on 
the charge of treason. Fortunately for the peace of the country, the repu- 
tation of the Government, and the reconciliation of the two sections, the 
charge was not pressed. Even at that early day the generous and graceful 
act of the venerable Horace Greely in offering himself as a hostage to the 
Government to procure the release of his former political enemy swept like 
so much, grateful balm into the hearts of the Southern people, and formed 
the first step towards genuine reconstruction. 

" It would be useless at this day to say much of the confinement of Mr. 
Davis and his treatment when in prison. We know that in those days the 
great heart of the, people of the South yearned towards the sufferer as that 
of a mother yearns to its offspring. The rivets which bound his fetters 
pierced every bosom in the South and transfixed it with the most poignant 
anguish. To his people that becomes an atonement for any errors he may 
have committed. Henceforth there could be but one sentiment — he was a 
people's vicarious sufferer. All else was forgotten.* Happily for us all the 
scars of his fetters have long since disappeared, and he ended his days in 
the midst of his friends and in the shadow of a blessed peace. 

" He devoted his declining years to a defense of his public course and that 
of his people. ' The History of the Rise and Fall of the Confederacy ' is 
one of the lasting monuments he leaves behind him. But while he believed 
to the end in the political creed of his earlier life, and that the arguments 
upon which they were founded are unanswerable in the forum of reason, as 
do many others, he admitted that the war had made them impracticable, 
and he expressed the sincere hope that the Union would be perpetual. 

" We pass no judgment upon the place which history will assign him. He 
already stands out as the most interesting, if not the most conspicuous, 
figure of his day. 



640 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

" Imperishably linked by association with the great captains whom xn 
life he trusted and loved— his early friend and admiration, the peerless 
Albert Sydney Johnston ; his trusted advisor and counsellor, the immortal 
Robert E.Lee, his faithful lieutenant, the grand and glorious StonewrJl 
Jackson— we can afford to trust posterity to do justice to one and to all. 

" What can I say in conclusion ? Nature made him one of its noblemen. 
The faith which he professed, and the virtues he practiced, made him a 
Christian gentleman; and in that spirit land to which he has departed, his 
soul, basking in the sunshine of its creator, will pursue its pure and lofty 
impulses in endless activities through the ocean of time." 

The graceful and admirable " Memorial" paper presented by Major Thomas 
W. Hall, concluded as follows : 

" Few persons, comparatively, to-day trouble themselves with the details 
or the merits of the strip of Roman factions, but the austere unbending figure 
of Cato occupies for all time a niche in the Pantheon of the world's greatest 
men. To Jefferson Davis, firm and unyielding to the last, bound submis- 
sively to the just .'decrees of Providence, but bending to no censure or opin- 
ion of man, we may apply with equal truth and appositeness Lucan's 
famous line : ' Vidrix causa de is placuil, sed victa CaionV 

" It is especially appropriate that Marylanders should unite in a public 
tribute to the memory of Mr. Davis, for to all Marylanders who espoused 
the Confederate cause, and thereby made themselves exiles from their 
homes, Mr. Davis was ever particularly sympathetic and kind, and they 
should mourn him not only as their leader, but as their friend." 

At the Confederate reunion and banquet held in Baltimore, January 20th, 
Lieutenant Winfield Peters, recording secretary of the Confederate Society', 
had in his annual reporta graceful record of the death of Mr. Davis (who was 
an honorary member of the Society) and an eloquent tribute to his memory. 
At the banquet Hon. T. R. Stockdale, member of Congress from Missis- 
sippi, responded to the toast, " Jefterson Davis, Statesman, Patriot, Hero," in 
an eloquent and appropriate speech which we had wished to publish in 
full. 

The Southern studertts of Johns Hopkins Universitv, the Webster Lit- 
erary Society of the Western Maryland College, the lady visitors of the 
Maryland Line Confederate Home, and other towns and organizations 
throughout the State took suitable action and paid fitting tribute to his 
memo/y and worth. 

NORTH Carolina's tribute. 

^^ In no State were the tributes more general or more feeling than in the 
" Old North State," and in his proclamation and his speech at New Orleans 
which weJiave already given, Governor Fowle but voiced the sentiments of 
his people. 



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DldCUSSING MILITARY ilATTEES WITH MISS WINNIE. 



642 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

In Raleigh immediately on the announcement of the sad event the bells 
were tolled, flags were lowered to half mast, public offices were closed, 
houses were draped, the Mayor, and the Governor issued their proclamations, 
and a mass meeting was called for that night at Metropolitan hall. 

Governor Fowle, Colonel Fuller, Captain S. A. Ashe, Colonel Kenan, ]Mr. 
Henry Keith, Mr. C. M. Busbee, Mr. J. G. Batchelor, Rev. Dr. C. Durham, 
and Mr. George H. Snow made brief but earnest and effective speeches, and 
suitable resolutions were adopted. 

Governor Fowle sent the following telegram in response to a request of 
the New York World : 

" Jefferson Davis was loved by Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. This 

is proof that he was brave, just, honest, faithful and competent. In my 

opinion, no other man could have discharged the duties of President of 

the Confederacy as successfully as he did. He dies with the esteem, respect 

and affection of the entire South. 

" Daniel G. Fowle." 

On " Memorial Day" business generally was suspended, the Confederate 
Veterans, and local military turned out, and an immense audience gathered 
in a meeting where Rev. Dr. J. W. Carter, Rev. Dr. C. Durham, Rev. W. M. 
Clark, Rev. L. L. Nash, and Rev. J. H. Cordon conducted the services, and 
Rev. Dr. John S. Watkins pronounced an able and eloquent eulogy which 
we should be glad to print. 

The Neivs and Observer of Raleigh thus announced the observance of 
Memorial Day all over the State : 

"The State exchanges show that union memorial services were held on 
Wednesday at almost every city, town, village, and hamlet in the Old North 
State. 

" Following are the names of the orators at a number of points where 
memorial services were held : 

"At Asheville Col. J. M. Ray presided. Addresses were made by Rev. Dr. 
J. L. Carroll, Rev. Dr. W. S. P. Bryan, Rev. Father White, Rev. Dr. W. A. 
Nelson, Rev. Dr. G. C. Rankin. 

"A large meeting was held at Durham, and places of business were closed. 
Addresses were made by Rev. Dr. Yates, Rev. J. L. White, Rev. H. T, Dar- 
nall, Rev. T. M. N. George, Col. R. F. Webb, Mr. James Southgate, Capt. T. 
L. Peay, C. B. Green, Rev. C. A. Woodson, J. B. Whitaker, Jr., (who also 
read a letter received by him from ^Ir. Davis,) and Mr. J. S. Carr. 

"At Winston a large and interesting meeting was held and several 
addresses were made. The orator of the occasion was ^ev. E. P. Davis, 
pastor of the Presbyterian Church. Addresses were also made by Rev. T. 
H. Pegram, Rev. W. E. Swain, Rev. M. C. Fields, Rev. Ira Erwin, and Hon. 
C. B. Watson. 

"An elaborate programme, consisting of music, adoption of resolutions, 
etc., was carried out at Charlotte. Hon. H. C. Jones was chairman. Ad- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 04S 

dresses ^vere made by Col. Jones, Capt. A. Burwell, Col. WilUau/ Johnston, 
Capt, R. P. Waring, and Col. John E. Brown. 

" "At Hickory resolutions were passed and addresses were delivered by 
Messrs. J. F. Murrill, F. L. Cline, and Rev. James A. Weston. 

"At Greensboro' there Was an elaborate demonstration. Minute guns 
were fired by the Guilford Grays and the Continental Guard. At the mass- 
meeting Hon, James T. Morehead presided, and addresses were made by 
Hon. D. F. Caldwell, Mayor Forbis, Judge J. A. Gilmer, Col. James E. Boyd, 
Mr. Scott, of Rockingham, and Judge Graves. 

"At Wilmington there was a large mass-meeting. Col. John D. Taylor 
presided. Eloquent and feeling addresses were delivered by Hon. George 
Davis, ex-Attorney-General of the Confederate States ; ex-Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Stedman, Hon. A. M. Waddell, Col. John D.Taylor, Rev. Dr. T. H. 
Pritchard, and Rev. W. 3. Creasy. 

"At New Berne a largely attended meeting was held. Hon. John S. Long, 
the orator of the occasion, delivered a superb address. 

"A large meeting was held at Oxford, at which Dr. B. F. Dixon preached 
an eloquent sermon. Remarks were also made by Judge J. J. Davis, who 
was present. 

"At Weldon a funeral eulogy was delivered by Robert Ransom, Esq., and 
a sermon was preached by Rev. W. J. Smith. 

" Meetings were also held at Franklinton and other points in the State." 

There w^as suitable observance of the day also at Rockingham, where Rev. 
Dr. Wood preached the sermon ; Henderson, where the address was made by 
Mr. W. R. Henry; Kingston, where the speakers were Mr, George Rountree, 
Rev, Israel Harding, Rev. J. B, Harrell, Rev. C, L. Arnold, Mr, John F, 
Wooten, Rev. W, S. Boone, Dr, H. D, Harper, Mr. J. Q. Jackson, and Rev. 
N. A Hooker; Wilson, Fayetteville, Concord, Bingham School, and many 
other points in the grand Old State which followed Mr. Davis so nobly 
during the war, and has been ever ready to honor him since. 

SOUTH Carolina's tribute. 

Two hundred pages would not sutfice to report in full the tribute of the 
" Palmetto State ; " and yet we are forced to compress it within the limits of 
a few pages. 

We have given the proclamation of Governor Richardson. 

The Legislature adopted the following which was offered in the House by 
Hon. J. C.Haskell: 

Resolved, by the House of Representatives of South Carolina, the Senate 
concurring. That this General Assembly has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of the Hon, Jefi'erson Davis; that in the death of Mr, Davis, the 
South has lost its most distinguished citizen, and the country one of the 
ablest and purest statesmen it has ever had, whose life, character and ser- 



644 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

vices, should ever be held in loving remembrance by the people of the 
whole country and especially by those of the South. 

"That the president of the Senate and speaker of the House be requested 
to communicate immediately to the family of Mr. Davis this expression 
of the profound sorrow and sympathy of the people of South Carolina, 
and that in token of our respect the flags of the capitol and all the State 
buildings be placed at half-mast during the present session of the General 
Assembly. 

" That a copy of these resolutions, suitably engrossed, and signed by the 
president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives be 
sent to the family of Mr. Davis. 

" That as afurthermarkof respect this General Assembly do now adjourn." 

It was ordered further that a committee of five— Hon. Eobert R. Hemphill 
and Hon. Jeremiah Smith from the Senate, and Messrs. John C. Haskell, 
Isaac G. McKissick, and A. F. O'Brien from the House accompany the Gov- 
ernor to the funeral in New Orleans. 

Among other admirable speeches on the resolutions, Col. I, G. McKissick, 
who gallantly rode with Jeb. Stuart and Wade Hampton and Fitz Lee in 
Virginia, said : 
"Mr. Speaker : 

"This General Assembly does well to express its sense of bereave- 
ment in the death of Jefferson Davis. Great in council, great in battle, 
great as the leader of his people, great in the clanking chains of the dun- 
geon, and still great in the cold arms of death. Sir, I endorse all that has 
been so eloquently and so touchingly said in honor of our fallen chief. He 
is not dead, but sleepeth, and the grand and glorious principles for which 
he suffered and endured so much are as immortal as himself. May the God 
he so devoutly worshiped smile upon his widow and child and upon his 
weeping people. Sir, we can never surrender the principles for which Lee 
and Jackson died. Let us wrap the honored remains of our dead chief in 
the stars and bars. It will be a glorious winding sheet. I could ask no 
prouder honor than that it might some day be mine." 

It was to be expected that battle-scarred, heroic, glorious old Charleston 
would pay worthy tribute to our dead President, and accordingly we have 
before us a pamphlet of seventy-nine pages — all of which we should be 
glad to insert— containing "A Tribute of Respect Offered by the Citizens of 
Charleston," and even that does not contain all that was appropriately said 
and done. 

As soon as the news reached Charleston the Mayor issued the following 
proclamation : 

" To the Citizens of Charleston : 

" It is my painful duty to announce to you the death of our great fel- 
low-citizen, Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the Southern Confederacy. 



SIS SICKNESS AND DBA TIT. 645 

The sad intelligence of his passing away has come with true sorrow to the 
heart .of a people in whose midst he spent his life, to whose service, as 
soldier, statesman, and chieftain, he gave all that was in life to give. Closely 
identilied with the brightest hopes and bitterest trials of the South, as a 
representative of her cause, he was ever faithful and steadfast, even in mar- 
tyrdom, and now in full years, in the reverence and affection of the people 
ot the South, he has passed away in honor, even as in honor long since 
passed away forever, the cause he led. 

" It becomes us to join with his and our Southern comrades to pay our 
affectionate tribute to the greatness of his mind and heart, his high charac- 
ter, his devotion and sacrifice for principle, his unsullied and pure life, that 
will ever be cherished in the memory of the South and by all good and 
true men everywhere. 

'' His funeral services are announced to be held in the city of New Orleans 
on Wednesday next, the 11th instant, and on the same day there will be 
held a memorial service in this city. This day of mourning will be held in 
Charleston, and all the offices of the municipality will be closed. The flag 
of the city will be at half-mast and the City Hall will be draped in mourn- 
ing for thirty days. 

" I request that all places of business be closed in observance of the day, 
and I earnestly invite my fellow-citizens to attend the memorial services to 
be held on that day. 

" Given under my hand and the seal of the city of Charleston, this 6th 

day of December, A. D., 1889. 

"George D. Bryan, Mayor. 
"Attest: W. W. Simons, 

"Clerk of City Council." 

Then followed meetings of the City Council, the Confederate Survivors' 
Association, the general committees, &c., at all of which suitable action was 
taken and arrangements made for the proper observance of " Memorial 
Day," December 11th. 

This was a day long to be remembered in Charleston. There was a gen- 
eral suspension of business, the firing of minute guns, an outpouring of the 
masses of people, the draping of houses and halls, the tolling of bells, and 
ether demonstrations that showed that the great heart of Charleston was 
beating in unison with the general grief. 

Col Zimmerman Davis, president of ttie Survivors' Association and chair- 
man of the Jefferson Davis Memorial Committee, called the meeting to 
order in a brief but feeling and appropriate address, and called Mayor 
George D. Bryan to the chair. 

A long list of vice-presidents and secretaries was nominated and elected, 
and Rfev. John Johnson (Mayor Johnson, the skilful and heroic engineer of 
Sumter,) led in a fervent and appropriate prayer. 



646 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Rev. Dr. R. N. "Wells recited with fine eflfect Father Ryan's exquisite i>oem> 
" The Conquered Banner." 

The venerable ex-Governor A. G. Magrath presented a preamble and reso- 
lutions of rare beauty and appropriateness, and they were seconded in a 
speech of ability, eloquence, and power by Major T. G. Barker, who was on 
the stafi" of Gen. Wade Hampton during the war. 

Then followed speeches of more than ordinary merit by Gen. B. H. Rut- 
ledge, Rev. Dr. W. T. Thompson, of the First Presbyterian Church ; Gen. 
Edward McCrady, Rev. R. C. Holland, of the Lutheran Church ; Col. Henry 
E. Young, and Mr. J. P. K. Bryan. 

Right Rev. H. P. Northrop, Catholic Bishoi), pronounced the benediction, 
and the whole occasion was one of thrilling interest. 

In Columbia the day was observed with proper services. A mass-meeting 
was held in the State Capitol, at which Rev. Dr. J. L. Giradeau opened with 
prayer, and eloquent addresses were made by Lieutenant-Governor Mauldin, 
ex-Governor Geti. Johnson Haygood, Gen. John Bratton* Judge A. C. Has- 
kell, and Gen. John D. Kennedy. 

There was also a mass-meeting of citizens at the Opera House, presided 
over by Mayor Joh" T. Rhett, and at which were appropriate and effective 
speeches by Col. R. W. Shand, Dr. A. N. Talley, Col. J. P. Thomas, Mr. 
Andrew Crawford, and Gen. Leroy F. Youmans. 

AtBlackville, Camden, Georgetown, Chester, Walterboro, Darlington, Beau- 
fort, Winnsboro, Florence, Orangeburg, Sumter, Greenwood, Williston, 
Rock Hill, Spartanburg, Due West, Gaffney City, Laurens, iFort Mill, and 
many other points there were meetings, speeches, resolutions, and other 
proper observances of the day. 

At Greenville there was a large meeting in the Opera House, and able 
and eloquent speeches by Colonel J. L. Orr, the venerable Rev. Dr. J. C. 
Furman, Colonel J. A. Hoyt, and Rev. J. A. Clifton. 

At Newberry there was a meeting at which addresses of more than ordi- 
nary beautjf, appropriateness, and power were made by Dr. James Mcintosh, 
Mr. J. F. J. Caldwell, Rev. E. P. McClintock, and Rev. Dr. J. S. Cozby. 

Indeed from the mountains to the seaboard ithere was grief in every 
home, and a loving tribute from loyal South Carolina hearts. 

Tennessee's tribute. 

The " Volunteer State," true to its traditions, its memories, and its prin- 
ciples, brought general and loving tribute to our great chieftain, and it is 
an especial grief to us that the printers warn us that we can now barely 
allude to what we had purposed publishing in full. 

Memphis, besides her general sympathies, had once been the home of '^^. 
Davis, and her tribute was both full and warm. We are indebted to our 
friend Captain C. W. Frazer, president of the Confederate Historical Asso- 
ciation, for a compilation of editorials in the papers, the action of Confed- 



HIS SICKNESS AND DBA TH. 647 

erate Veterans, citizens, exchanges, the military, Mexican Veterans, schools 
and other organizations of Memphis which we should be glad to publish 
and which would make probably forty pages of this volume. We can only 
say here that appropriate resolutions were passed by the Confederate His- 
torical Association, the Commercial Exchange, the City Council, and other 
organizations. Memorial Day there were services in the Catholic and 
Episcopal Churches, and a union service in the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church (the one that General Bedford Forrest was so largely instrumental 
in building and where he held his membership at the time of his death), 
all of the services being largely attend. The sermon at the Lutheran Church 
was preached by Rev. Eugene Daniel. 

The military companies of the city. Confederate veterans, and citizens 
generally formed a procession which marched to the Theatre where thera 
was a packed house. Colonel C. W. Frazer called the meeting to order and 
welcomed the crowd in a brief and appropriate speech. Rev. N. M. Woods led 
in a fervent and appropriate prayer. Judge J. W. Clapp. an old personal 
friend of Mr. Davis, was orator of the day and pronounced a fitting and 
eloquent eulogy on his life and character. Judge Sneed then read the 
following sweet poem written for the occasion by Mrs. Virginia Frazer 

Boyle 

" Oh ! great heart, standing all alone, so long 
Amid the storm and wreck of bitter years, 
Unscathed by floods of calumny and hate, 
Unswerved by the treachery, unblanched by fear, 
Led like as one before the altar stone. 
To bleed, a living sacrifice for hosts. 

" Thy human light has flickered in its sconce, 
Burned low, so long within the Southland's love. 
The darkness trenches on the twilight hush, 
And we, oh ! heart, we weep that thou are stilled ■ 

" Yea, we have loved, ah! God, so deeply well, 
Forgetful of the tension on thy strings- 
Have held thee, till the silent sleet of grief 
Wore through thy portals, down into thy core. 
And now we give thee up Heroic heart. 
'Tis hard to lay the 'neath the stars and bars— 
The shell of all the ^andest parts, the hand 
Of nature ever fashioned for a man I 

" We give thee up, arisen in the light, 
Above the darkened glass of human eyes,— 
Yea, face to face, bound in our love, we leave 
Thine unveiled fame tc Truth, thy soul to God 

— " Virginia Frazer Boyle." 



648 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Hon Casey Young made a few eloquent remarks in presenting the very 
appropriate and graceful resolutions which were adopted. 

After the meeting at the Theatre had adjourned the ladies did a very 
fitting and graceful thing in carrying the profusion of beautiful flowers which 
decorated the stage to deck the grave of Jefferson Davis, Jr., who died of 
yellow fever in 1878 and is buried in Elmwood cemetery. 

At Nashville the news of Mr. Davis's death was received with profound 
sorrow The Mayor of the city and the Governor of the State promptly 
issued their proclamations, flags were placed at half-mast, buildings were 
draped, and Immediate preparations were made for the proper observance 
of Memorial Day. 

Chief Justice Turney adjourned the Supreme Court for the day in the 
following wor Is : 
" Gentlemen of the Bar : 

" We have learned this morning of the death of ex-President Jefferson 
Davis. In view of his long identification with the country and its welfare, 
his eminent services and the faithful ability with which he discharged the 
duties of many exalted public stations, we think it due to his memory that 
the court adjourn for the day." 

Memorial Day was observed by a large mass-meeting at the State Capitol 
over which General J. F. Wheeless presided and made a brief address in 
introducing as orator of the day Elder Lin. Cave, who was a former gallant 
member of the old loth Virginia Infantry. Mr. Cave delivered an appro- 
priate and very eloquent address, which was well received. 

There was handsome tribute paid at Jackson, Brownsville, Covington, 
Newbern, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Gallatin, Morristown, Clarksville, 
Lynchburg, Pulaski, and other points. 

At Knoxville there was a meeting at the First Presbyterian Chiirch, at 
which the pastor, Rev. Dr. James Park, made an appropriate.and eloquent 
address, which only lack of space prevents us from publishing, and was fol- 
lowed in a brief address by Rev. Carter Helm Jones, pastor of the First 
Baptist Church. 

Zollicofer Camp Confederate Veterans also had a memorial service at the 
Courthouse, at which Rev. Carter Helm Jones was the orator. 

At Clarksville the venerable Rev. Dr. A. D. Sears made an eloquent and 
effective address, which we deeply regret being unable to publish in full as 
we had purposed. 

And at various other points all over the State there was such tribute as 
warm, loving hearts could bringto one so highly respected, honored and loved. 

TEXAS's TRIBUTE. 
We have already given the proclamation of Governor Ross and spoken of 
the tribute which Texas brought to New Orleans, and now we can only cull 
a few leaves from the magnificent wreath of prairie flowers which the great 
''Empire State of the South " laid on his bier. 



HIS SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 649 

Gaheston^s tribute was elaborate and beautiful. Artillery Hall was taste- 
fully decorated, and an immense crowd heard addresses of unusual beautj'', 
eloquence, and power from the venerable Gen. T. N. Waul (said to be '•' the 
oldest Confederate" in Texas), who presided over the meeting; Major F. 
Charles Hume, Hon. E. G. Street, and Majoi Frank ]\I. Spencer. ]Miss Lil- 
lian "Walker recited " The Conquered Banner." 

At Dallas, Camp Sterling Price Confederate Veterans led off in a move- 
ment which culminated in a very appropriate and earnest memorial service. 

At Austin there was fitting tribute and a large mass-meeting, at which 
Dr. R, M. Swearingen and Judge A. W. Terrill, among others, made eloquent 
addresses. 

At Fort "Worth, Laredo, El Paso, Lamar county, Paris, Floresville, Waco, 
Bonham, Cleburne, Richmond (where Judge M. J. Hickey made a striking 
address), Texarkanna, Wichita Falls, Comanche, Llano, Brownwood, Gra- 
ham, Dawson, Beaumont, Lampasas, Decatur, Fort Davis, Palestine, Terrill, 
Houston, San Antonio, Sherman, Jefferson, Marshall, and, indeed, at nearly 
every city, town, and hamlet in the State there were meetings, addresses, 
resolutions, and enthusiastic and loving tributes to his memory. 

We cannot better close the tribute of Texas to our great chief than by 
giving just here the following poem, which Mrs. Davis especially requested 
that we should print : 

"We mourn for thee, great chieftain, 
But not as the hopeless mourn; 
Thou hast won all life's guerdon — 
Its love and its bitter scorn. 

"Hail to thy glorious triumph. 

In the rest thy grave shall give I 
Hail to thy resurrection. 
That rapturous life to live ! 

" No breath nor shaft of malice 
Shall intrude upon the song, 
Of sublimest hallelujah 
From all that welcoming throng. 

" No tyrant 'ban' can reach thee, 
Thy freed spirit to repress, 
' Whei-e the wicked cease from troubling 
And the weary are at rest.' ■ , 

" Roam, then, in fullest freedom 
All among those golden streets, 
And rest beneath the shade trees 
When'er comrade comrade meets. 

" Be ours the priceless treasure 
Of thy memory to keep. 
With ever fresh embalming 
When around thy grave we weep. 

"Dallas, Texas, December 10, 1889." "—Mrs. Mary Mitehel Brown, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

And now we have only a page or two into which to crowd a 
volume. 

In addition to those we have noted, Mrs. Davis received reso- 
lutions and other tributes of respect from the students of the 
University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., Poplar Bluff, Mo., Mar- 
shall, Mo., Moberly, Mo., Troy, Mo., Kansas City, Mo., Butler 
county. Mo., and other towns in the State, and also from Guth- 
rie, I. T., Socorro, New Mexico, Los Angeles, Cal., and other 
points. 

While theie were some utterances in Northern papers utterly 
unworthy of any one living in this marvellous century, the 
general tone of the press at the North was, if not kindly, at 
least silent. We can cull only a few of their utterances. 

The New York Examiner, on6 of the very foremost religious 
papers in the world, thus said editorially : 

" The death of Jeflferson Davis has called forth a general expression of 
respect and sorrow at the South. This was to be expected, and no reason- 
able man at the North will suspect the South of disloyalty to the re-estab- 
lished Union because they are also loyal to the man who was their leader in 
the ' Lost Cause.' There was a time when Jefferson Davis, as the visible 
embodiment of the secession movement, was more bitterly hated in the 
North than any Southerner, but time has softened that feeling. That Mr. 
Davis was an honest, almost fanatical, believer in the sovereignty of the 
States and in the right of peaceable secession has long been recognized. 
His personal integrity was never questioned, and those who have known 
him best have always testified to his personal virtues. Let us hope that in 
his grave may be buried the last of the animosities that inspired our civil 
war, and that the new South may join hands with a new North to make our 
common countrj' not merely the greatest and the richest in the world — she 
is that already — but the most free, enlightened, and Christian of nations." 

The New York Sun said : 

" From him came no accent of self-exculpation or self-reproach. Failure 
had brought sorrow, but no compunction. Amid irreparable disaster Jeffer- 
[650] 



MISCELLANEOUS. 651 

SOD Davis was sustained by a serene consciousness that he had done a man's 
work according to his lights, and that while unable to command success he 
liad striven to deserve it. Even among those who looked upon him with 
least sympathy it was felt that this man bore defeat and humiliation in the 
high Roman fashion, and that of him in his loyalty to a lost cause it might 
lie said, as of another majestic soul at Utica, that 

" ' Victrix causa dels placuit, sed victa Catoni. 
By the victor's side the gods abide, but by the victim's, Cato." " 

The New York Times said : 

"The funeral of Jefferson Davis and the observances that attended it 
throughout the South were very noteworthy for the spirit manifested in 
them. There is no fear now that any vindictive political action can be 
taken against the South, and there is thus no reason of prudence why any 
Southerner shouJd refrain from speaking his whole mind. Yet, though cer- 
tainly the proceedings denoted that the Southerners were not in the least 
ashamed of the course that they or their fathers took a quarter of a century 
ago, there has not been, that we have observed, a single word uttered of 
regret that their cause was lost or that the South was coerced into rejoining 
the Union it attempted to break. It would be difPcult even for any person 
so fanatical as the late Governor Foraker or the late Mr. Halstead to find 
fault with the temper displayed by the people of what were once the Con- 
federate States." 

*From Pomeroy^s Advance Thought, New York : 

" God pity the narrow-minded soul that squeaks out its dirty bitterness 
because the people of the South love the memory of Jefferson Davis. He 
was always an honest man; a friend of his people, regardless of the me- 
naces and intolerance of thosewho were not friendly to the South. Henever 
used his principles as a net in which to catch fish for market. He was not 
the inventor of the idea that man need not love a government that he 
could not love, or a people who believe that a political administration has 
the right to punish people for not loving narrow-minded persons who hate 
them. Jefl'erson Davis came into this world as others come. He loved the 
people of the State and localities whose people he knew, and whose me- 
naced interests he sought to protect Through all the shocks and years of 
shocking wars and all the whirlpools of hate over which his life ran, he 
lived out God's appointed time, as Daniel lived in the den of lions that 
growled but were not permitted to lay claws upon him or to touch him with 
their teeth. Wise men are satisfied with the general result of the war, in 
its liberation of slaves and its restoration of the country. Jefferson Davis 
did as he thought to be right ; therefore he deserves honor. He was true to 
his love for all that portion of the country, that did not propose to tramp 
with iron heel upon the other portion. He believed that statesmanship 



652 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

should supercede the sword, and that reason is more honorable than rago, 
fanaticism and passion, heated by desire to plunder and confiscate. He has 
passed on to spirit life, and the South loves his memory as it should love it, 
and as the people of every patriotic country should and ever will respect it. 
Were the people of the South to forget him, or fail to honor the man who 
endured so patiently for their sake, they in turn would deserve none of 
respect or place in the minds of men who have manhood. 

" The cause which he was chosen to lead failed through the errors of 
those who planted it, and the numerical power, but not superior bravery, 
of those who contended against it to final victory. The North has enough 
to be proud of— and enough to be ashamed of— without sullying its reputa- 
tion for greatness by burling cowardly venom upon an honest man in his 
memory, and upon those who admire honesty, bravery and devotion to best 
friends. 

"Jefferson Davis will live longer in history and better, than will any who 
have ever spoken against him." 

" London, December 6. 

"All the evening papers have leaders on Jefferson Davis. The Globe 
recalls Mr. Gladstone's eulogium, including the famous phrase so much crit- 
icised at the time — ' Jefierson Davis has created a nation,' and adds that if 
he did not create a nation, it was because such a creation was clearly not 
possible in the conditions of affairs. If statesmanship, military genius and 
devotion on the part of a whole people were sufficient for the foundation of 
a State, a slaveholding republic would have been established. The enter- 
prise failed, it concludes, because success in the conditions was not difficult, 
but impossible." 

The Daily Telegraph says: "Jefferson Davis is gone, followed to the grave, 
we doubt not, by more affection and gratitude on the part of the South and 
a more respectful and just appreciation on the part of the North than were 
always his portion during life." 

Mrs. F. G. DeFontaine has sent to the Neius and Courier the following 
extract from the letter of a friend, a New Hampshire woman, a descendant 
of John Quincy Adams, and a personal friend of INIr. Davis, to whom he 
sent his last photograph : 

" The death of President Davis is an event that marks an epoch in heart 
and Southern history. I am satisfied he is glorified. I would not call him 
back. He had lived his life, won the admiration of the world, and died 
crowned with honors. Like Washington, he has enriched the annals of 
history, and his name and fame will live until the records of the world 
perish. This is immortality." 

One of the most frankly sincere and admirably candid criticisms from a 
Northern standpoint is that of the Philadelphia Times, edited by that lib- 
eral-minded journalist. Colonel A. K. IMcClure : " That Mr. Davis was ' one of 
the most conscientious of our public men,' that he ' never yielded in convic- 



MISCELLANEO VS. 653 

tion or bowed to expediency,' that hia farewell speech to the United States 
Senate was ' memorable for its dignity and pathos/ that the Confederate 
hero ' will go into history as one of the most sincere, conscientious and self- 
denying of all the leaders of the Lost Cause,' and finally, that he was 'hon- 
est in faith, expression and effort alike at Montgomery, where he was 
crowned amidst the smiles and roses of the sunny South ; in the prison cell 
when hope and friends seem to have perished, and in the hour when the 
long halt was called that summoned him to the dreamless couch of the 
dead." All these kindly words and more come from one of the leading 
newspapers in the Pennsylvania city. 

The New York Herald speaks of ]Mr. Davis as " not an original secession- 
ist. He cherished hopes of the Union long after Yancey, Rhett, Toombs, 
and others had cast hesitancy to the winds. He was 'proud to the end, 
the last of the Confederates to furl the Confederate flag, awed by no 
reverses, discouraged by no disaster, obstinate, gloomy, impracticable, 
taking the sternest responsibilities, offering no compromise, seeking none ; 
never veiling his cause by apologies, nor until the hour of his death show- 
ing the least regret.' " 

Contrasting Jefferson Davis with the war President of the Union, the 
Herald says : 

" In the essential element of statesmanship, Davis will be judged as the 
rival and parallel of Lincoln. When the two men came face to face, as lead- 
ers of two mighty forces, bitter was Northern sorrow tbat Providence had 
given the South so ripe and rare a leader and the North an uncouth advo- 
cate from the woods." 

And finally the Herald concludes that " no one will hold a more con- 
spicuous place than the stern, implacable, resolute leader, whose cold, thin 
lips have closed forever in that beloved South which he served with passion 
if not with wisdom." 

CONCLUSION. 

We know not how better to fill the space that remains to us 
than by quoting a speech by a Soldier-Preacher and a poem by 
the "Poet-Priest" of our Southland — the first made before 
Pickett Camp Confederate Veterans and a large crowd on 
" Memorial Day " at the Second Baptist Church, m Richmond, 
and the second written to be read at the great Southern His- 
torical Society meeting in New Orleans, when Mr. Davis was 
present and made an address of rare eloquence and power. 

ADDRESS OF REV. DR. S. A. GOODWIN. 

" A great man has fallen. The South is in tears. She sits like Niobe over 
her slaughtered children, weeping at the grave in which sleeps her patriot 



654 TH:B: Da vis MEMORIAL VOL VME. 

htatesman and hero. Her altars are wreathed with cypress, her flags aft? 
drooped, and her drums are muffled. The soul of President Davis is with 
God, but his name is enshrined in the hearts of the people for whom he suf- 
fered, and his deeds are forever wedded to immortality. 

" Mr. Davis was a patriot. The storm-cradled nation,' whose course his 
genius guided through all its years of bitterness and blood, is a thing of the 
past; but the principles which called it into existence and placed him at 
its helm will live as long as liberty has a champion or patriotism a friend. 
Sweet to the memory of every Southern heart is the proud consciousness 
that it was no lust for pelf or power, no love for gold or gain, no strife for 
coronet or crown, that induced him to forswear the government under whose 
aegis he was born, whose institutions he loved, whose battles he fought, and 
upon whose escutcheon he had shed a new and richer lustre; but fidelity tO' 
principles bequeathed him by his fathers, and a deathless devotion to the 
State whose interests he had sworn to protect. The gigantic struggle which 
he guided, and for whose origin he was hunted and hounded, and for whose 
disastrous end the ignorant and the selfish, even among his own people, 
have held him alone blameworthy, had to come. He was simply one of 
the great factors in the mighty movement; but he did not set in motion the 
war. The reason for it were written on the first slave ship that crossed the 
Atlantic ; they are found in the history of the colonies ; in the climate, the 
soil, the productions, and the genius of the people, and in the very forma- 
tion of the compact that constituted the union of the States. To deny that 
the States in adopting the Constitution reserved to themselves certain rights, 
is to betray the most palpable ignorance of the whole history of the govern- 
ment. Virginia ratified the compact with hesitating pen in one hand, 
whilst with the other she held the Bill of Eights, in which she refused to 
delegate to the general government the privilege of controlling her own 
institutions and of enacting her own laws. The right of the State to con- 
trol her own institutions and to frame her own laws was one of the fun- 
damental principles of the American Constitution. The object of the 
compact was for mutual protection, and not the interference of one State 
with the local laws or individual institutions of another. Of the rightness; 
or the wrongness of State sovereignty it is now needless to speak. The 
arbitrament of the sword has settled that question, and thrown the insti- 
tution of slavery forever behind us. Suffice it to say that Mr. Davis, in 
common with Jefferson, Calhoun, and many other statesmen, believed in 
the right of secession, and in his senatorial speeches, and in his ' Rise and 
Fall of the Confederate Government,' he has given reasons for his belief in 
arguments that are overpowering, and with logic that is irresistible. When, 
therefore, the sacred compact was denounced by the fanatical partisans of 
the North as ' a covenant with death and a league with hell,' and instead 
of being used for the protection of all of the States, was perverted into an 
instrument for the oppression of those of the South, Mr. Davis, in com- 



MISCELLA NEO US. 065 

mon with many of the wisest and most patriotic men of the South, advised 
withdrawal from the Union, and .the formation of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. But he did not do this ; until he had exhausted every argument in 
favor of the Constitution as originally adopted, and had tried every honora- 
ble means of reconciliation. The South sought nothing but the protection 
of her property, and the rights of her citizens. She wanted no war She 
wished to depart in peace. She was moved by the same spirit that actuated 
"Washington and Jefferson, Hancock and Adams, and all the other found- 
ers of the Republic when they threw off the yoke of British oppression, 
and rallied the lovers of freedom in defence of ' their altars and their fires.' 
The British Government denounced the signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence as rebels, and stigmatized Washington as a traitor. The United 
States government denounced the founders of the Confederate States 
as rebels, stigmatized Davis as a traitor, and raised an immense army 
to put down the rebellion. Only those who are blinded by passion and 
preverted by prejudice can fail to see the analogous causes that called 
into existence the two governments. The success of the first is the admira- 
tion of the world ; the defeat of the second is stigmatized as rebellion. 

" ' Rebellion ! foul dishonoring word, 

Whose wrongful blight so oft hath stained 
The holiest cause that tongue or sword 
Of mortals ever lost or gained. 

" ' How many a spirit born to bless 

Hath sunk beneath that withering name. 
Whom but a day's — an hour's success 
Had wafted to eternal fame.' 

"The patriots who gave their lives for the independence of the colonie 
are lauded as martyrs ; but the heroes who died for the independence of 
the States are stigmatized as rebels. But no slander can sully their glory, 
no vituperation can stain their patriotism. 

" We need not turn to Marathon nor Thermopylae to find warriors who 
have wreathed their brows with unfading chaplets, nor search the storied 
archives of Spartan valor for names that were not born to die. We need 
not rifle the mausoleums of Athens, nor decipher the moss-grown ceno. 
taphs of Rome to find the names of those who carved their way tp yJacy-" 
through the fiery track of war, and went up from b.'"^'"'^'"' .. f '^urnrng to 
their homes among the stars. In all the galaxy of fame there is no brighter 
Constellation than that of the 'Heroes of the Lost Cause.' Poland was 
wiped from the roll of nations by the iron hand of despotism ; but freedom 
did not die with Kosciusko. Emmett died upon the scaffold ; but his name 
is enshrined in the hearts and woven in the songs of all true Irishmen. 
When the last of the Gracchi expired he flung dust towards Heaven, and 



(;56 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

from that dust Marius sprang — Marius less for having conquered the Cimbri 
than for having destroyed in Rome the despotism of the nobility. And 
from the blood of those Southern braves, wherever shed, there shall spring 
the preservers of Liberty, and the avengers of wrong. Xo ; these men were 
not traitors. That cannot be treason for which the mothers of the South 
starved and suffered, and sent forth tlieir sons to sleep in nameless graves, 
or to be brought home upon their shields. No ; that cause can never be 
made odious for which Stuart, and Jackson, and Johnston died, and of 
which Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis were the exemplars and the expo- 
nents. No ; when slander has exhausted its venom, and prejudice has spent 
its force, and impartial history has pronounced its verdict, the name of 
Jefferson Davis will shine in equal splendor with those of Madison and 
Monroe, Calhoun and Clay. Not a spot obscures his crest, not a sprig bus 
been torn from his chaplet ; though now 'cursed and scorned' his name will 
be wafted in every breeze that sighs through his native pines, and be heard 
in every slumbering echo that awakes to the call of freedom. 

"Mr. Davis was a statesman. The consummate skill with which he 
guided the infant Confederacy through the storms that rocked it, and the 
hidden foes that threatened it, is not eclipsed by the prudence of Pitt nor 
the policy of Napoleon. Few fully appreciate the difficulties that environed 
him. He was placed at the head of a people, thrown without preparation 
into the midst of the mightiest conflict of the ages ; they were without 
government, without soldiers, without arms, without any of the munitions 
of war ; but his genius supplied every difficulty and met every want. He 
created, as if by magic, the most splendid army that ever marched to vic- 
tory, and supplied it with the ablest commanders of the age. That his 
hand sometimes slipped in guiding the intricate and delicate machinery of 
a government throbbing with passion and heated with war, no one will 
deny ; he would have been more than man not to have made mistakes. 
The Confederacy did not fail for lack of statesmanship in him, but because 
success in the conditions which environed it was not possible. But the 
calmness which he displayed in the midst of storm, the firmness which he 
evinced in the midst of trepidation, and the immense resources which he 
supplied in the midst of destitution, combined with his comisrehensive 
knowledge of government, demonstrate him to be a statesman in whom was 
combined the acuteness of Pitt and the executive power of Napoleon. Per- 
haps no man of this age possesses his genius, combined with his versatility 
of talent. His knowledge of government was profound, and his acquaint- 
ance with science and literature comprehensive and accurate. As a chaste 
and elegant writer of English he was without a rival among American states- 
men. As an orator he M-as eloquent, logical, passionate, powerful. Time 
forbids me to speak of Mr. Davis as a soldier. Suffice it to say that his gal- 
lant charge at Monterey, his skill and strategy at Buena Vista, the improve- 



MISCELLANEO VS. 667 

ments wLich he eflected iu the organization and equipment of the army 
while Secretary of War— all demonstrate that he was a soldier of the highest 
type Trained for the army, he desired to serve the South in the field, but 
the people with one accord called him to the Presidency of the Confed- 
eracy, and he yielded his wishes to the judgment of his compatriots. Had 
it been otherwise he might have won a name that would have shone with 
equal splendor with that of Lee, or else have hidden it from the shafts of 
calumny in the grave like Stuart and Jackson and Johnston. But the 
crowning glory of Mr. Davis was his stainless purity and sincere piety. 

"As President of the Confederacy he has been denounced as a traitor and 
villifiedas a murderer; but no man has dared to charge him with malfea- 
sance in office or prostituting the public service to private aims. During all 
the carnage of war, the trials of public life, the suspicion of friends, and the 
persecution of enemies, he maintained a stainless character and an unspot-o 
ted name. A devout student of God's Word, a man of prayer and a firm 
believer in Christ, and an ardent supporter of the Gospel, his piety shed its 
lustre over his home, softened the rigors of his prison life, sustained him 
under the reverses of fortune, sweetened the sorrows of old age, lighted him 
through the dark valley and shadow of death, and finally placed upon his 
head a crown that will shine with ever increasing splendor when the skies 
of worldly glory have darkened and her scrolls have gone to decay. The 
heart that offered its blood for our liberty has ceased to beat ; the lips that 
were eloquent in our defense are silent; the arms that did battle for us are 
motionless; but his deeds, embalming all that is heroic inaction, pure in 
patriotism, lovely in virtue, and sublime in Christianity, ' will smell sweet 
and blossom in the dust.' 

"'Nothing need cover his high fame but heaven. 
No pyramid set off his memories, 
But the eternal substance of his greatness — 
To which I leave him.' " 



THE MEN WHO WORE THE GBAY. 

Tell it as you may. 
It never can be told ; 
Sing it as you will, 
It never can be sung. 

The story of the glory 

Of the men who wore the gray, 

In their graves so still ; 



658 THE DAVTS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

The story of the living, 
Unforgiven, yet forgiving, 
The victim still of hate, 
Who have forever clung, 
With a love that will not die, 
To the menaories of our past ; 
Who, are patient and who wait, 
True and faithful to the last, 
' Fot the Easter morning sky. 
When wrong's rock shall roll away 
From the sepulcher of right, 
And the right shall rise again. 
In the brightness of a light 
That shall never fade away, 
Triumphantly and glorious 
To teach once more to men, 
The conquered are victorious. 
The conquered in the strife 
Through their children yet shall reign 
By their patience and their peace ; 
They shall fill the people's life, 
From right's ever virgin vein, 
With the purest love that flows, 
Made the purer by our woes, 
Without stain and without cease. 
Till the children of our foes 
Shall be proud and glad to claim 
And to write upon one scroll 
Every dear and deathless name 
On our Southern muster roll. 

Ah ! we rebels met defeat 
On the gory battle-field, 
And we flung our muskets down, 
When our bonnie flag was furled 
But our right did but retreat 
With pure honor for her shield, 
And with justice for her crown. 
From the forces of the world. 
(For against us thousands came, 
Money brought from every clime. 
But we stood against them all, 
For the honor of our name. 



MISCELLANEO US. 659 

Till the fated day of time 
Came but to crown our fall 
With a fadeless wreath cf fame.) 

Retreat into that shrine, 

Back of every Southern breast, 

Your hearts, my friends, and mine. 

Where right finds a holy rest 

On the altar-stairs that slope 

Toward the throne where reigns the just, 

Where we still live on and hope, 

And in Him we place our trust. 

Is it treason thus to sing? 

Why, then treason let it be, 

Must we stoop to fawn on wrong ? 

To the idle must we bring 

Our heart's idolatry 

And the fealty of song ? 

No, no ; the past is past, 

May it never come again •, 

May no drum or bugle's blast 

Summon warriors to the plain ! 

The battle's play is o'er. 

We staked our all and lost ; 

The red wild waves that tossed 

The Southland's sacred bark 

Are sleeping on the shore. 

She went down in the dark: 

Is it wrong for us to listen 

To the waves that still will glisten 

Where the wreck we loved went down? 

Is it wrong to watch the willows 

That are drooping o'er the grave ? 

Is it wrong to love our brave ? 

Are our memories a treason 
To the powers we must obey ? 
Can the victors give a reason 
Why the men who wore the gray 
From our hearts should march away 
And should pass from us forever 
Like the dreamings of the night ? 



660 THE DA VIS ME3I0RIAL VOL UME. 

Do they want the South to sever 

The blood-consecrated ties, 

The sacred bonds of sorrow, 

That will link our last to-morrow 

To our glory-hallowed past ? 

Ah! pure hearts cry, Never! never! 

For each soldier heart that dies 

In our memories still is beating; 

Though the years are fast retreating, 

We remember to the last. 

Nay, tell it as you may, 

It never can be told, 

And sing it as you will. 

It never can be sung — 

The story of the glory 

Of our bonnie, bonnie flag, 
When its battle-wings were waving 
In the valley — on the crag — 
On the billows of the ocean. 
By the river's winding shore. 

The years have passed away, 

But, ah! 'tis flinging still 

Around our hearts to-day 

The self-same spell it flung 

O'er our soldiers in their gray. 

Back of lines that never quailed, 

Far from battle-banners flash, 

There were lips that moaned and wailed 

And how many eyes that wept; 

Tho' they heard no cannon crash 

Nor the terror-storms of lead, 

And they sighed the while they slept 

When they dreamed their own were dead, 

Mothers, wives and children fair. 

Back of all the ranks that fought, 

Knelt adown in holly prayer, 

And in Heaven only sought 

In their infinite despair, 

Gleams of hope to light the night, 

Darkly gathering o'er the right. 

Can a singer gather up 
In the chalices of song, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 661 

Half the tears that filled the cup 
Of the griefs of such a throng? 

Crimson drops on battle plain, 
Thro' four sorrow-laden years — 
Were they richer than the rain, 
That baptised our homes with tears? 
Nay ; no singer yet has sung 
Song to tell how hearts had bled. 
Where, our soldiers' homes among, 
Wept eyes waiting for the dead. 

And one— statuesque and still — 
(Is he in the hall to-night, 
Who yet suffers for the right?) 
Faithful chieftain of our cause- 
Like an ocean rock his will 

Let the wild waves rise and fall ; 
What cares it, and what cares he? 
Tho' still banned by freedom's laws, 

In his home besides the sea. 

Lives he freest of the free. 

Ah I they chained his feeble frame. 

But they could not chain bis thought, 

Nor the right for which he fought; 

And they could not chain his fame, 

But they riveted his name 

To the hearts of you and me. 

Aged chieftain! Southern truth I 

In you keeps immortal youth I 

You, our truest and our best, 

What care you for any ban? 

Are you not the noblest guest 

In the hearts of each and all ? 

For us all you wore wrong's chain. 

And each heart is now the hall 

Where you have the right to reign. 

Leader of the men in gray 1 
Chieftain— truest of the true— 
Write our story as you may. 
And you did ; but even you, 
With your pen, could never write 



662 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

Half the story of our land. 
Yours the heart and yours the hand- 
Sentinels of Southern right ; 
Yours the brave, strong eloquence — 
Your true words our last defense ; 
Warrior-words — but even they 
Failed as failed our men in Gray ; 
Fail to tell the story grand 
Of our cause and of our land. 

— Father A. J. Ryan. 

And now our task is done, and we send forth the " Davis 
Memorial Volume" in the hope that it may prove in some hum- 
ble degree worthy of its great theme. 



ADDRESS 

OF 

HON. J. A. P. CAMPBELL, 

Before the Mississippi Legislature. 

Senators, Representatives and Fellow- Citizens : 

This occasion is well calculated to recall the scenes of 1860-61, when 
tlie mutterings of the storm, that soon burst in fury upon this before peace- 
ful land were heard distinctly, and engaged the attention of all. It is 
appropriate to recur ,to that period, with its spirit of patriotism, which 
inspired our people, and directed their course. 

The world has done justice to Southern valor, which was so conspicuous, 
and struck such sturdy blows on many fields as to compel recognition and 
acknowledgment, but justice has not been done to the motives of the 
Southern people; and it devolves on us, who were actors in it, to vindicate 
the truth of their history, and transmit to posterity a correct account of the 
impelling cause of their action. The charge of wantonly and causelessly 
severing their relations to the Union is without foundation. Nor is it true, 
as often asserted, and by many believed, that the masses were hurried to 
disunion, against their judgment and wishes, and without their consent, by 
aspiring leaders. Their action must be considered from their standpoint 
then; and thus tried, it will appear that the movement sprang from the 
spirit of self-preservation, and a sublime determination to maintain their 
birth-right of freedom. The impelling cause of secession was far more jus- 
tifiable than that which led to the Revolution of 1776; and the diflferent 
result in the two cases cannot change the dictates of justice or the decision 
of impartial history with reference to it. 

The culmination of sectional feeling among the people of the North, aris- 
ing from different institutions, interests and habits, in the election of a 
president of the United States, produced widespread alarm among the peo- 
ple of the South, as to continued security for their institutions and interests 
in the Union; and they were confronted with the momentous question: 
What should be done for the safety of great interests thought to be imperiled ? 
It was not a spirit of ambition which aroused the society, but a sense of dan- 
ger, and desire to avert it. The conviction was general — well nigh universal 
— among the people of the South, that the Union was about to be perverted 
to their injury. Right or wrong, this was the prevalent belief All classes 
shared the apprehension. There is no instance in history of nearer approach 

f663) 



664 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 

to unanimity among a people than characterized our movement in secession. 
The universality of the apprehension is a strong indication of ground for 
such general concern. While there were diSerences of opinion, as. to what 
was wise to be done, the conviction was general, that something should be, 
and the prevalent sentiment was that safety should be sought by prompt 
withdrawal from a Union about to be used for the destruction of our rights. 
In this there was nothing unnatural or unprecedented. We had a conspic- 
uous example of it in the course of our forefathers, which inspired us, and 
many other precedents in history for our course. There was no objection to 
the constitution or the Union it formed, and there was no hostility to the 
people of the North. Born to an inheritance of freedom, proud of the glories^, 
of the Union of which the South was so large and important a part, and to \ 
which her people had contributed so much, her sons revered the constitu- , 
tion, and the Union it formed, and shrank from the thought of being | 
deprived of either. J 

So strong was this feeling among Southern men, that the idea of dissolving 
the Union had to be endured for a long time before it was finally embraced, 
even after thought of danger to the rights of the South was associated with 
its continuance. It was not until the conviction was forced upon the people, 
that the union of states created by the united efforts of the people of South 
and North was about to be employed against the South, that a dctermina- ,' 
tion was formed, to abandon the Union and save the constitution. 

We proved our devotion to the constitution by substantially adopting it 
for the Confederate States, and showed our love of the Union by forming 
one just like that we left. 

The long delay to dissolve the Union vindicates the South from the charge 
of hostility to it. A reverential devotion to the constitution and the Union 
caused the people of the South to cling to the Union with a delay fatal to 
the success of their final action. It was in the power of the South, for a 
long time dominant in the Union, to have established a separate govern- 
ment, at any time during many years after, it became apparent that this 
alternative would probably be forced upon it. The wonder is, that this 
was not done, when the South was the more Ipowerful section, or when it 
was discovered that power was about to be transferred to the North. 

The unprepared condition of the Southern States is conclusive evidence of 
the absence of premeditation to destroy the Union, No preparation what- 
ever had been made. Disunion and war were a surprise to our people, and 
were accepted only as a last resort to avert what was regarded as a greater 
evil. 

The attachment of the South to the Union of the constitution was very 
strong and is easily explained. 

The Declaration of Independence was the production of Southern intellect 
and statesmanship. Southern valor and skill did much to maintain it. The 
constitution of the United States was largely the work of Southern states- 



1 



MISCELLANEO US. 665 

r 

' men, and Southern men had shaped and moulded and administered the gov- 
^^rnment under it for many years. It was only when they conceived that 
they had to choose between the Union and the constitution, that they re- 
solved to abandon the former and preserve the latter. 

Whether our people acted wisely or unwisely, and were culpable for lov- 
ing the Union so well, and clinging to it so long, must remain unanswered 
forever. 

Looking back it is not surprising that the North should have been unwil- 
ling to part witli the South. It was natural for the citizens of each section 
to adhere to it. I have never blamed a Northern man for supporting his \ 
country, in the contest which followed; and before the bar of justice and/ 
fairness, I demand the same recognition for myself and countrymen in sup-j 
porting ours. We are all to a large extent creatures of education and victims'' 
of circumstances. This is our native earth, and rights to which we were 
born were in jeopardy. Men "love their land; because it is their own : " 
" And scorn to give aught other reason why. " The seceding states united in 
a confederacy, which maintained for four years an organized constitutional 
government ; put great armies in the field ; secured belligerent rights, and 
though not formally recognized, had an existence among the nations of the 
earth. It claimed our allegiance, and was entitled to it. Our cause loas just, \ 
and to-day I am not ashamed of it. It can never become odious in the bright / 
light of truth. In it were centered the hopes of millions, through the vary- 
ing fortunes of war for four years, and after multiplied thousands of heroic 
deeds and deaths, the Sun of the Confederacy set forever, in gloom and 
darkness ; its bright banner, all covered with glory and renown, was furled 
on land and sea ; its gallant soldiers and sailors dispersed ; its music hushed ; 
its votaries smitten with sadness and grief But though the cause was lost, 
it was not dishonored. Its existence, though brief, was dazzling with bril^ 
liancy. Its arms, though finally unsuccessful, filled the world with their re-,' 
nown. Its struggle, though a failure, showed the world how a brave people 
could dare, and suffer, and die to maintain their rights, as they understood 
them, and recreant to their high trust will this people be, if the time shall 
ever come, when Jefferson Davis and his compatriots shall be forgotten. 

One of the chief actors, the most colossal figure in these stirring times, wag 
Jefferson Davis, the illustrious deceased, the grand historic character, whose 
life is commemorated on this occasion, and by these proceedings. When 
the Confederate government had been resolved on, all ej^es were turned to 
the great Mississippian, as pre-eminently fitted to be the President of the 
Confederate States, and commander-in-chief of its army and navy, and he 
was unanimously elected to that position by the Provisional Congress assem- 
bled at Montgomery, In a calm, on placid seas, anybody may steer or com- 
mand the vessel, but when a storm comes, the highest skill and courage are 
required. It is a just tribute to the distinguished dead that, in the supreme 
moment, when patriotism ruled, and naught was thought of but the honor 



I 



666 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

and glory of the infant government about to begin its struggle for existence, 
and a great statesman and soldier was desired to be placed at the head of 
affairs, no other name than his was mentioned for the great trust. Called to 
be the chief executive of the Confederate States, this great man addressed 
himself earnestly to the arduous task imposed upon him, which was no less 
than to mould a government, in its civil and military departments, while 
struggling by arms to maintain its very existence. He was subsequently 
elected by the unanimous votes of the electoral college the permanent Presi- 
dent of the Confederate States. 

How grandly he bore the burden placed upon him during the four years 
or more of the existence of the Confederacy, is familiar history. The end 
came, and found him at his post of duty, which he had never deserted dur- 
ing all the weary period of the contest. The Confederate cause was lost, 
and its illustrious leader became a prisoner of State, falsely charged by 
irresponsible popular clamor at the North, with complicity in the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln, and afterwards falsely charged by indictment 
with treason against the United States. Every effort was made to humili- 
ate and degrade him. His wrists were manacled by handcuffs within the 
massive walls of Fortress Monroe ! Shame and eternal execration on the 
authors of such unparalleled meanness! Proudly and defiantly he bore 
himself under all that he was forced to endure, and showed the world the 
impossibility of storming the fortress of a resolute and intrepid soul. All 
efforts to humiliate or degrade the noble prjsoner failed. His splendid 
character shone forth conspicuously from the narrow confines of his dark 
prison cell. His brave spirit never quailed. No murmur escaped him. H&- 
f corned to sue for mercy. He demanded to be tried on the charge against j 
him. For two years he was deprived of his libertj^ and his rights, bearing 
himself with composure and dignity befitting his high character and dis- 
tinguished career. The decency of the North soon revolted at the base 
charge of complicity in the death of Lincoln, and the prosecution for trea- 
son was abandoned. He was allowed his liberty, but was ever pursued with 
malevolent rancor by a large portion of the people of the North, and was , 
constantly the object of misrepresentation and abuse by those incapable of / 
rising to a just conception of his great character, and the justifiableness of \ 
his course. "^ 

Prohahly, no man teas ever more misrepresented or misunderstood. 

He did not desire or seek to promote disunion. He was animated b j' the common 
sentiment of the Southern people. He loved the Union he had been taught 
to revere ; in which he had grown to honor and distinction, and for which 
he had periled his life and shed his blood. 

' He had more to lose by disunion than any Southern man. He was, 
'ujidoubtedly, the foremost man in the South, among our public men. He 
was a United States Senator, and had been Secretary of War, and with a 
brilliant reputation as a civilian and soldier, had fair prospects for the 
Presidency of the United States. He was slow to accept secession. 



MISCELLANEOUS, 667 

Tlie oft-repeated charge that he desired a disruption of the Union that he might 
he chief of a Southern Confederacy, is utterly untrue. It is well-known by 
those possessed of his views, that he did not wish to be President of the 
Confederate States. 

The imputation that he did not have a just conception of the contest, or that 
he thought a small number of troops or a short time sufficient to end the 
struggle by arms, is a groundless calumny, born of total ignorance or reck- 
less hate or mendacity. He, more than any of our public men, anticipated 
a long and serious struggle. His knowledge of the people of the North con- 
vinced him that the South would not be allowed to depart in peace, and his 
knowledge of war, and the preparation and resources of the North, and the 
comparative want of both in the South, impressed him with the seriousness 
of the step taken by the seceding States. Time and again have I heard 
him, in this hall, warn his hearers that the time might come when a sense 
of danger would impel the Southern States to assume control of their own 
afiairs in a separate government, and that wisdom dictated timely prepara- 
tion for the possible conflict. His view was that secession meant war^ and 
that the States of the South should prepare for the possible contingency, both 
because such preparation would go far to avert the necessity, by deterring 
from that course which would produce disruption; and, if the States should 
be driven at last to secession, they would be ready to maintain their atti- 
tude. After the formation of the Confederacy it was the declared opinion 
of President Davis, in the early part of the spring of 1861, that the war 
would be serious, and that Virginia would be the chief seat of war. I heard 
him make this declaration in Montgomery, in May, 1861, and a distinguished 
friend of mine, now living, was present and heard it. 

His career was illustrious, and challenges admiration. He was a great man. 
He was the grandest man I ever knew, and I hope I will be pardoned for 
saying that I have had opportunities for measuring him by some of the 
greatest of earth. Tried often, and on great occasions, he alwaj's proved 
equal to the demand upon him, and thus sustained the real test of greatness. 
Bred to arms, he achieved distinction as a soldier. Betaking himself to civil 
life, and the peaceful pursuits of a cotton planter, in 1835, after seven years of 
service in the regular army, he was eminently successful, and in a few years 
had $10,000 to his credit with his cotton factor in New Orleans, as shown by 
the testimony of that factor, now on file in this capitol. Embarking in pub- 
lic life, after nine years of seclusion on his plantation in Warren county, he 
surprised the country bj^ the extent and variety of his knowledge, and his 
, wonderful power as a public speaker, in a land abounding in orators, and 
iwas very soon a recognized leader. Elected to the Congress of the United 
States, as a representative, he maintained his reputation. Chosen colonel of 
the First Mississippi regiment for service in the war with Mexico, he has- 
tened to the scene of hostilities, and won great renown as a brave and skill- 
ful officer. Returning on crutches, rendered necessary by a serious wound 
received in the battle of Buena Vista, he was offered a brigadier-general's 



6,68 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME.^ 

commission by President Polk, and declined it, because he held to the view 
that all commissions should come from the States in such cases. 

Arriving at home with his splendid military reputation added to his civic 
virtues, " Col. Davis "was the pride of Mississippi, in that day of her glory and 
power, A vacancy having occurred in the Senate, he was appointed United 
States Senator by Gov. Brown, and, when the legislature met in 1848, he 
was, by the vote of every member, elected to fill the unexpired term in the 
United States Senate. Here he took high rank, and was chairman of the 
Committee on Military Affairs. In 1850 he was elected by the Legislature of 
Mississippi to a full term of six years in the Senate of the United States. In 
1851, at the call of the State's rights party in INIississippi, which had been 
beaten and discomfited at the election held, in August for delegates to a con- 
stitutional convention, so that its candidate for governor retired from the 
ticket, Col. Davis resigned his seat in the Senate and made the race as a 
candidate for governor. He was then for a time in private life, and in 1853 
was called to the cabinet of President Pierce, and made Secretary of War, 
and contributed much to the efficiency of the army of the United States. 
At the close of his four years' service as Secretary of War, he again entered 
the Senate, in pursuance of an election by the Legislature of Mississippi, and 
again was made chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, for 
which he was pre-eminently fitted, according to the judgment of his fellow 
Senators and the country. 

He continued in the Senate taking a prominent part and maintaining his 
well-earned and distinguished reputation as a publicist and debater, and 
was easily the foremost Senator from the South, until he was called away by 
the sovereign voice of IMississippi, spoken by a convention of her people as- 
sembled in this hall, in January, 1861. That voice he never failed to hear and 
heed. Sorrowfully he turned his back on the Senate of the United States, 
after a dignified and pathetic farewell, and hastened to new duties and 
perils. He was made major-general of State forces, and betook himself 
with characteristic promptness and zeal to the discharge of the duties of 
this position, and was thus engaged when he was called to the Presidency 
of the Confederate States. 

Ho was not a saint ; he was human, and doubtless erred. He may have 
had faults. The sun has spots, but they are invisible, obscured by its efful- 
gent rays. So, his faults, whatever they may have been, were eclipsed by 
his splendid virtues. Through a long and busy life, tried on many theatres, 
and ever exposed to the clearest public gaze, he bore himself magnificently, 
illustrating many of the highest virtues that adorn human character. His 
courage was sublime. 

I speak not merely of the sort of courage that enables one to bear himself 
well on the battle-field. Most men have that. But have reference to that 
high moral courage based on truth and faith in the right; that moral vir- 
tue, which sustains its possessor under all circumstances and prompts and 



I 



MISCELLANEOUS. 669 

enables him to follow his conviction of duty in the face of a frowning world, 
if need be. 

He had a lofty contempt of everything low and mean. His methoda 
were all direct, open and manly. He was incapable of truckling; he did 
not know how to act the small politician. He had faith in the triumph of 
right. He was governed by principle in his actions, and depended on his 
high character, and public appreciation of it for his success. His public 
and private life was pure; his conduct always upright. He was always 
truthful, honorable, brave, faithful, and consistent in maintenance of the 
right as he viewed it. 

A distinguishing feature of his character, and the most prominent one 
was his devotion to duty. Duty was his inspiration and guide. Where it 
pointed he followed, whatever the sacrifice or peril. He left his pleasant 
seat in Congress to lead Mississippians on fields of carnage, in a foreign land, 
in obedience to its behest. When severely wounded in battle, he remained 
in command all day. He resigned a full term of six years in the Senate of 
the United States, to be the candidate of his party for an office he did not 
desire, and in the face of the strong probability of defeat. So, when he 
accepted the presidency of the Confederate States, with its exacting duties 
and perplexities. No man had a higher sense of duty. He consecrated his 
life and devoted all the energies of his earnest nature to the service of his 
country. 

His conception of public office was that it is a public trust — a place to render 
the very best service he could— to do duty for his country, and he toiled 
assiduously and unremittingly for this purpose, and with this high resolve 
animating and sustaining him. 

There was never a more faithful public servant, and this imports far more than 
is generally understood ; for the multitude has little conception of the cor- 
roding care ; the consuming anxiety ; the pressing and almost crushing 
sense of responsibility, and the ceaseless effort of him who is entrusted with 
great responsibility, and is fit for it and worthy of it. The many throw 
care aside when the day's business is over, and sleep sweetly and soundly, 
knowing nothing of the perturbed hours and disturbed rest of those in 
public positions of great responsibility, on whose sufficiency and fidelity 
the welfare and happiness of society largely depends. The many are patri- 
otic, undoubtedly, for it is their interest to be. There has been and there 
is such a thing as patriotism as the chief inspiration to holding office. 
There are those who hold office to serve their country, surprising as this 
announcement may now be regarded by many. 

Though the multitude were reproached for following Christ for the 
loaves and fishes of which they had eaten, there were yet some who sought 
him from higher motives than the loaves and fishes. Though of the ten 
lepers healed by him, nine failed to return to give him thanks that was his 
due and their duty, there was one who was mindful of his obligation. And 
although the per centum of those actuated by proper motives and mindful 



670 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. 

of their just obligation may still, as of old, be small ; there are yet some 
who desire public office to render service to their country ; and Mr. Davis 
was a conspicuous example of this small class it may be, but which cer- 
tainly exists. 

His consistent adherenceto principle was strikingly exhibited by his refusal of 
a brigadier-general's commission at the hands of the President of the United 
States, because he held the view that commissions of officers of the volun- 
teer forces should come from the States ; and during all his administration 
as President he confined himself strictly within the constitution and laws, 
thus illustrating by example what he had contended for. 

His firmness was mistaJcen hy many for obstinacy, and he was sometimes 
reproached for persistent adherence to his own convictions as to the con- 
duct of affiiirs. Such was the earnestness of his nature, the strength and 
sincerity of his convictions, the stability of his character, and the stead- 
fastness of his views, that he was slow to yield to any suggested change in 
that on which he had deliberately resolved. 

To this trait of his character are we indebted for the priceless treasure we 
possess in the matchless fame of Generals Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, and 
Stonewall Jackson. When Lee accomplished nothing in AVest Virginia, and 
Jackson as little in his Eoniney expedition in the winter of 1861, and 
when General A. S. Johnston retreated from Bowling Green, there was great 
outcry because of these failures, and President Davis was urged to sui:)ersede 
those officers, but he was aware of the insui^erable difficulties, and sus- 
tained the officers named with undiminished confidence until they seve- 
rally vindicated his wisdom and firmness in withstanding public clamor, 
and achieved enviable fame for themselves and the Confederate arms. He 
lived and labored for his country, and while his strong individuality exhi- 
bited itself in his administration of his great trust, his i^aramount concern, 
his absorbing object — that which possessed and swayed and governed him — 
was devotion to the country whose faithful servant he was. 

He had a fine person — a splendid bearing that commanded attention e very- 
where. " He was chief of a thousand for graces." His attainments were 
varied and extensive. As an orator he could thrill, and move an assembly 
as no other man whom I ever heard, could. As a writer he had few supe- 
riors, for a clear, iforceful, and graceful expression of his views. His State 
papers are models of style. His defense of the Southern people in his histo- 
ry of The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Govermment, will stand forever un- 
answered and unanswerable, as their complete vindication before the im- 
partial tribunal of disinterested posterity. 

The former civilization of the South produced the highest types of m--"- 
hood and womanhood the world has ever seen, and Jetferson Davis wasc-,^. 
of the best specimens of that splendid period. 

But he has gone from us. He sleeps his last sleep. No sound shall awake 

him to glory again. While he lived he filled the world with his fame, and 

, millions mourn his death. Death never claimed a nobler victim. When, a 



MISCELLANEOUS. G71 

few weeks ago, his death was announced, the busy worhl paused to notice 
and discuss the sad event. It was a notable occurrence. The grand charac- 
ter of tlie man, coupled with his representative character as the illustrious 
chief and survivor of a cause that had challenged the respect of the world, 
secured general attention. Throughout the South that he loved so well, and 
served so faithfully, and where his great virtues were known, and prized 
by all cai)able of appreciating the highest qualities of manhood, grief 
was universal. No such exibition of universal sorrow was ever witnessed in 
our land. Millions joined in. doing honor to the memory of this great char- 
acter. Peer of Washington ! His fame is secure. Glory guards it. It Avill 
grow brighter with the march of time. Mankind will honor and pay tribute 
to the high qualities he exhibited through his long life. It is instinctive to 
do so, when passion does not sway. It is the tribute paid by the spark of 
divinity in the soul of man to virtues that are God-like, because God-given. 
"Lives of great men all remind us we may make our lives sublime, "and 
I would fail to improve this occasion, if I did not seek to impress on this 
audience some of the lessons taught by the distinguished career of the illustri- 
ous dead. Disraeli said, " The secret of success is constancy to purpose. " The 
wise man, long before, had said: " Seest though a man diligent in his busi- 
ness, he shall stand before kings; he shall shall not stand before mean (ob- 
scure) men. " High resolve, with constancy and diligence, will, as a rule, surely 
bring success, and these traits of character were conspicuously present in all 
the life of Mr. Davis. His was a busy life. He had no time for trifling. The 
gaiety and frivolity of life, and even its ordinary social claims, had little 
charm for him, for he was chiefly occupied with the great concerns of life. 
His character is admirable, in his utter disregard of common methods of se- 
curing popular favor. He cared not for the popularity that is run after. 

" He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, 
Or Jove for 's power to thunder." 

He commanded respect because he deserved it. Whatever his hand found to 
do, he did it with his might. In private life ; in the army ; in the House or 
Senate; as Secretary of War; as President of the Confederate States ; where- 
ever he was placed, diligence, constancy, seriousness and devotion to business 
characterized him. He was always diligent and faithful. He did his duty, 
and thus commanded respect. Duty performed never fails of its reward, in 
sorne way. His splendid character was superiortothe accidents and failures 
of life. Chains and a dungeon could not disgrace him. He verified the 
distitch, 

" Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 

He showed himself greater in adversity and defeat than in the day of his 
power. He proved that," Worth makes the man," and in adversity rose 
above his surroundings, and reflected honor on human nature. 

He was ambitious, no doubt, but it was to serve his country, and he was 
ever ready to sacrifice himself for it. He exhibited self-denying patriotism. 
His life proves that conspicuous merit will secure attention, and obtain recog- 
nition in time of danger and popular concern. In a rude age kings and 
leaders where chosen for their stature. The man who stood head and shoul- 
ders above his brethren was in the line of promotion, and apt to secure it. 
So., in this age of civilization and refinement, when physical proportions are 
1' necessary, and therefore less influential, he who possesses intellectual 
ad moral qualities which place him above his fellow-men, is very apt to be 
.ailed to fill high place. True it is that 

"Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear; 

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 



072 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. I ' ''-^ 

But while there are doubtless men who live and die unknown to fame, 
hecause of want of opportunity, the man of true merit, who aspires to jjopu- 
lar favor, and pursues it by proper methods, as he will, is apt to secure the 
prize he seeks. Mr. Davis's eminent ability, as displayed before a conven- 
tion, led to his being brought before the people as a candidate; and each 
placa he afterward held came to him because of his fitness for it. He was 
sought for high places of trust and honor. He was by nature and sense of 
propriety incapable of office-seeking, as sometimes witnessed. 

He might truly have declared : 

" Exegi monumentum xre perennius." 

He erected for himself a monument more lasting than brass; but, if ever 
a man was deserving of a monumental pile commemorative of his virtues 
and services, and expressive of a people's gratitude, he M'as. He gave his 
life for us. He was a vicarious sufierer for the whole South. He bared his 
bosom, and received in his person, as our representative, the envenomed 
hate of the North. It was on our account he was imprisoned. For us he 
wore manacles! Because he was our chief, chosen by us for his exalted 
position, he was reviled, traduced, denounced and pursued as the chief of 
malefactors. Every venomous shaft hurled at him was aimed at us. He 
was simply our representative, abused because he was such. His life Avas 
part of the history of the Confederate struggle. Becaused he survived the 
Confederacy, and proudly maintained an unrepentant attitude, refusing to 
sue for pardon or seek relief from political disabilities, he continued, long 
after the war was over, to provoke the bitterness of large numbers of the 
people of the Northern, W'ho never lost an opportunity assail him. The 
injustice of this is manifest, for, if he chose to remain under political disibili- 
ties and asked no favor, none had any just cause of complaint. 

lie was our most conspicuous representative, it is true, but he was ani- 
mated and moved by the common impulse of the people of the South. Pie 
was our leader in a cause dear to us all as Southern patriots, and was no 
more deserving the wrath of the victorious foe than the rest of us. The 
general love and confidence of the Southern people respecting him seemed 
to irritate and provoke the vilifiers of the North towards him. 

A monument erected on massive foundations, deep and broad and strong, 
would represent his sturdy character built on the sure foundation of truth 
and right. Piercing the topmost skies, it would typify his lofty sense of 
honor and duty. Its breadth would signify his growing fame. Enduring 
for ages it will be only coeval with his reputation, and the continuing 
influence of hi? great example. Covered all over, thickly covered, with 
appropriate and inspiring inscriptions, inciting to lofty endeavor, it will but 
feebly express the lessons of his great life. 

But he is gone. We ne'er shall behold his like again. His, 

" One of the feWj the immortal names, 

That were not born to die." Then, 

" Let us weep in our darkness, but weep not for him 1 

Not for him, wlio departing, leaves millions in tears I 

Not for him, who has died full of honor and years I 

Not for him, who ascended fame's ladder so high. 

From the round at the top, he has stepped to the sky." 



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